Help Me Fund a Course in Child Development & Mental Health

Hi everyone,

I’m raising funds to enroll in a Stanford continuing studies course called Child Development: Behaviour and Mental Health. This course starts later this month, and I’m hoping to raise enough to cover the tuition and take this big next step in my career and calling.

For the past several years, I’ve worked with children in a variety of roles—as a preschool teacher, an elementary Spanish instructor, and a private educator and nanny for kids aged 2 to 12. I’ve recently felt a strong pull to deepen my impact by moving toward a therapeutic path, with the long-term goal of becoming a child and family therapist.

This course is more than just professional development—it’s a meaningful step toward equipping myself with science-based tools and knowledge to better understand children’s mental health and behaviour. I want to move beyond intuitive and learned ways based on my experience in early childhood education so far, and ground my work in research-backed strategies that I can bring to the families and communities I support.

I’m currently between jobs, and while I’m committed to this path, I simply can’t afford the tuition at this moment. The course costs $1655, and any contribution—no matter the size—would mean the world to me.

Supporting children’s growth, joy, and healing has always been at the heart of what I do—and this course will help me do that more intentionally and more effectively.

If you’re able to support, thank you so much. If you’re not but feel moved by this, please consider sharing my fundraiser with someone who might be. (:

Grateful hugs from me and all the current and future humans in my care,

Carmen