Send Elijah to School!
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Elijah Foley is a miracle.
15 years ago, when Elijah came into our family as a foster child, he was an infant suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome and severe crack/cocaine withdrawals.
Since that day, Elijah is still fighting to overcome the physical and mental disabilities which stem from an underdeveloped brain resulting from in-utero exposure to narcotics and alcohol. While I fear going into too much detail will make this unnecessarily long, suffice it to say the struggles he faces on a daily basis make those of my own seem small.
Thanks to the support of many in our family, guidance and treatment of numerous therapists doctors, help from the state of Kentucky and other programs dedicated to special needs children, Elijah has been fortunate to receive the help he has needed to become what he calls "normal". In the last many years, Elijah has been fortunate to try out his interests in various sports and extra-curricular activities, but often he has had to withdrawal from those activities because of his differences and struggles to interact socially with peers. Recently, he took up his first job working at McDonald's, just as he saw many of his older siblings do when he was younger. Not only are we proud of his accomplishments, but we found greater joy being able to see the pride on his face when he received his first paycheck. It isn't often that we get to see pride on his face. More often than not, the faces we see are ones of discouragement and again, a growing longing to feel "normal".
For the past many years, our mother (a retired, certified teacher) has been choosing to home-school Elijah using standardized curriculum. This has allowed Elijah the flexibility in scheduling to work with therapists and doctors to become a respectful, polite and productive member of society as he grows into a young man.
Recently, as part of ongoing therapy with his behavior specialist, it was recommended to begin integrating Elijah back into a small classroom setting. In such a short time, the doors to facilitate this have thrown themselves open. The right school, with the right sized classrooms and a great discipline structure, fell into our lap. Elijah has taken and passed placement tests to enter into the 9th grade in this school, another achievement we are incredibly proud of. He has done his part.
However, we are struggling to come up with the financing to officially enroll Elijah in his schooling. I don't know if you've ever had to ask for money, but its one of the most humbling and (often embarrassing) experiences to ask for help, especially on such a sensitive subject.
The only reason we don't have the money at this time is due to the short notice on this decision being so close to the beginning of the school year. We have negotiated with the school to allow for partial payments going into the future, but at this moment, we are trying to raise $8,200 for the school year. The first payment of $2800 is due this coming Friday, 8/17/2018.
Anything you can contribute would be amazing. We need a miracle, for our Miracle. We believe that Elijah's continued success into the future is dependent on his growing improvement in his social and academic experiences. Please help us continue to make a difference in Elijah's life.
Thank you for your time!
The Foley's
15 years ago, when Elijah came into our family as a foster child, he was an infant suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome and severe crack/cocaine withdrawals.
Since that day, Elijah is still fighting to overcome the physical and mental disabilities which stem from an underdeveloped brain resulting from in-utero exposure to narcotics and alcohol. While I fear going into too much detail will make this unnecessarily long, suffice it to say the struggles he faces on a daily basis make those of my own seem small.
Thanks to the support of many in our family, guidance and treatment of numerous therapists doctors, help from the state of Kentucky and other programs dedicated to special needs children, Elijah has been fortunate to receive the help he has needed to become what he calls "normal". In the last many years, Elijah has been fortunate to try out his interests in various sports and extra-curricular activities, but often he has had to withdrawal from those activities because of his differences and struggles to interact socially with peers. Recently, he took up his first job working at McDonald's, just as he saw many of his older siblings do when he was younger. Not only are we proud of his accomplishments, but we found greater joy being able to see the pride on his face when he received his first paycheck. It isn't often that we get to see pride on his face. More often than not, the faces we see are ones of discouragement and again, a growing longing to feel "normal".
For the past many years, our mother (a retired, certified teacher) has been choosing to home-school Elijah using standardized curriculum. This has allowed Elijah the flexibility in scheduling to work with therapists and doctors to become a respectful, polite and productive member of society as he grows into a young man.
Recently, as part of ongoing therapy with his behavior specialist, it was recommended to begin integrating Elijah back into a small classroom setting. In such a short time, the doors to facilitate this have thrown themselves open. The right school, with the right sized classrooms and a great discipline structure, fell into our lap. Elijah has taken and passed placement tests to enter into the 9th grade in this school, another achievement we are incredibly proud of. He has done his part.
However, we are struggling to come up with the financing to officially enroll Elijah in his schooling. I don't know if you've ever had to ask for money, but its one of the most humbling and (often embarrassing) experiences to ask for help, especially on such a sensitive subject.
The only reason we don't have the money at this time is due to the short notice on this decision being so close to the beginning of the school year. We have negotiated with the school to allow for partial payments going into the future, but at this moment, we are trying to raise $8,200 for the school year. The first payment of $2800 is due this coming Friday, 8/17/2018.
Anything you can contribute would be amazing. We need a miracle, for our Miracle. We believe that Elijah's continued success into the future is dependent on his growing improvement in his social and academic experiences. Please help us continue to make a difference in Elijah's life.
Thank you for your time!
The Foley's
Organizer
Chris Mix
Organizer
Greenwood Lake, NY