Support Berkeley S.T.E.P. students!

Story

These are my kids... Well, they aren't mine technically, but they are my students. My students come from Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, Pittsburg, and San Leandro (so far), and are seniors or recent graduates of Berkeley High School, as well as a small group of adult students. The Berkeley S.T.E.P. Program was the creation of Captain David Sprague and the Berkeley Fire Department, in conjuction with the Berkeley Unified School District and Contra Costa R.O.P. Together they joined forces to create an innovative, rigorous, four year pathway program aimed at creating Firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics who will come full circle and eventually be serving the communities they grew up in. The Berkeley S.T.E.P. Program has one year of Fire Science (Junior year of High School), followed by a year of EMT (Senior year), and 2 years of Paramedic education (post graduation from Berkeley High School). Our students are each matched with a mentor from the Berkeley Fire Department who can help them navigate the intense educational process, as well as helping motivate them towards a career in Fire and EMS, serving the public. The Berkeley S.T.E.P. Program staff, volunteer mentors, Berkeley Fire Department and community members are devoted to helping these kids recognize their potential as contributing, ESSENTIAL, members of their community. We have watched our students excel at Fire Science and EMT courses, excited and energized to enter into the Paramedic Program. Many of my students come from low income situations, often working multiple jobs, while going to high school, as well as taking the EMT course (which is after school on Tuesdays and Saturdays). When they graduate from my EMT class, they can take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians exam, to get their EMT-B certificate. The exam costs $70. Then, they must apply for their county EMT card, which costs approximately $215 dollars (including a criminal background check). Then, they must get their ambulance drivers license, which requires a medical physical ($50-150), as well as the DMV ambulance exam which costs another $25, before they can even apply for a job.Needless to say the costs add up. I wish I had unlimited money of my own to give them, knowing that eventually it will all repay itself... But I simply don't have enough. I want my students to have EMT uniform t-shirts (at the least.) I want them to be able to wear them with pride when they do their engine and ambulance ride-alongs with the Berkeley Fire Department. I want them to have something that symbolizes that they are now an integral part of our larger EMS community.My students cannot afford much... YET... But someday they might have the opportunity to save a life, save a home, give comfort to someone who is frightened or has lost everything. Someday they will get the chance to change their communities for the better, to advocate for other students who are struggling, and to be role models for generations to come.My students ARE my kids... and I want to give them the chance to know that they are important, that the community is here to support them along the way, and that they can do ANYTHING they set their minds to.Please support these incredible future EMT/Paramedic/Firefighter, public safety servants of OUR communities.  Your donations will help buy them uniform t-shirts, pay for their books, their NREMT exam, their EMT county card applications, and more. So far, 6 of my EMT students from last year have returned to help teach my new EMT class. They aren't being paid, they aren't getting extra credit, they are doing it because they want to. They humble me, inspire me, and motivate me to keep on fighting for them. Please help me show them that their community supports their dreams. Thank you so much,Love,Nina Small, NREMT-PEMT Program Director and Lead InstructorThe Berkeley S.T.E.P. Program