Nurture 15 At-Risk Atlanta Preschoolers for a Year

Dear Friend,

“I want my boys to have the best education possible. Sheltering Arms is helping my children, and other children throughout the community, to thrive.”

If you ask Ephraim what is most important in life, he will share that the one thing he values most, is being a father. Ephraim’s pride, passion and commitment to fathering his three boys, Ely, Edres and London, shines through when he speaks. He always wanted to be a dad and sought to create a strong foundation for himself early in life. This foundation was critical – he missed having his father in his own life and vowed to give his children a different experience.

The foundation Ephraim created, starting with service in the Army, enabled him to continually transfer his values of faith, family and completing tasks with excellence to his sons. Another vehicle supporting Ephraim’s commitment to excellence has been the quality early education and family support at Sheltering Arms. His two youngest sons, Ely and Edres, attend Sheltering Arms and are doing well. “I have a lot of confidence in Sheltering Arms and we continue to teach and learn at home by talking and reading together.” Ephraim also participated in Sheltering Arms’ Fatherhood Academy. “Sheltering Arms has been great for my family. I like what my sons are being exposed to – they are challenged to think outside of the box and they are up to speed academically. The Fatherhood Academy has been helpful too. It has been great to spend time with other fathers exploring ideas and talking about what it means to be a good dad.”

For Ephraim, part of what it means to be a good dad is starting the day off right. Every morning, he wakes up early to prepare a hot breakfast for his sons and engage them in quality conversation before school, “Breakfast is my favorite meal and my boys like sitting down as a family before we get the day going.” It also means a lot to Ephraim to know that Ely and Edres are safe and learning at Sheltering Arms while he is at work.

Ultimately, Ephraim’s dream for his sons is to do all that he can to make them strong, capable men, “I want them to be in good health, to be comfortable in their skin and to be confident in who they are. I want my boys to be good people and to give and earn the respect of others. Sheltering Arms is helping me to fulfill that dream.”

With your help, Sheltering Arms is helping to make Ephraim's dream and the dreams of thousands of other families a reality. Nearly 90% of our children are from low-income working families. Your support provides tuition scholarships so that parents can afford the quality care and education their little ones need and deserve. And you can be assured that your gift is invested in an efficient, effective program:

• 92¢ of every dollar donated to Sheltering Arms goes to children and families
• 96% is the average score of Sheltering Arms children on developmental assessments
• $1 invested in quality early education returns up to $17 to the community in savings on incarceration, remediation, and public assistance

We are so grateful for all that friends like you have helped our children and families accomplish. We look forward to positively impacting generations of families with quality child care and early learning for years to come. Thank you.

With appreciation,
Cristel

• Ephraim and his sons, Ely and Edres today (PDF)