Alexis Runia's College Fund

We are reaching out to caring readers to request support for our good friend, Alexis Runia.  Alexis is anxious to attend college, and needs help to make that dream come true.

Alexis lives in a loving home with her single mother and a brother who has Autism and is Intellectually Disabled.  Her mother works as a flight attendant, which takes her away from home for several days at a time.  When Alexis was younger her father lived with them, but his addiction to alcohol and drugs led, after a number of  painful years, to the divorce of her mother and father.  To feed his addictions, her father raided some funds she had set aside for college, and diverted other funds needed by the family.  They also caused the loss of his job, and resulted in Alexis often taking care of him like a mother from the time she was in elementary school.  With her mother gone, she has also had to give substantial daily support and care to her brother.

Despite having to assume many adult responsibilities before the age of 10, Alexis has retained a cheerful, positive attitude and looks forward to the future with optimism.  Many times we have cared for Alexis and her brother in our home, as have many others of her family’s friends, while her mother was away on a multi-day business trip, and her father was unable to provide care.  We have always been impressed with how she has handled the challenges of her life with love and dependability.  For more than three years she has worked, sometimes several jobs, to help provide income for herself and her family, all the while successfully completing her education through high school.  Currently, she works with children with severe and profound disabilities, and she would like to go to college to focus on a career working in this field.

Any help that you can offer to Alexis in achieving her education goals would be very much appreciated.