b"Underprivileged and Educationally At-Risk Children in Delray BeachWhen we were babies we watched and mimicked our parents. We learned the meaning of what were initially merely sounds to us. We learned that those sounds together formed words thathadmeaning.Welearnedhowtotalk.Welearned English.Butwhatwouldhavehappenedtousiftheonly languagespokeninthehousewasntEnglish?Westarted school, and we came home and if we didn't understand our homework, one of our parents could help. But what if there werenoparentswhocouldhelp?Thesearethereal-life problemsfacedbymanychildreninDelrayBeach.The population includes many Haitian and Latin American families where the principal, if not only,languagespokenathomeisCreoleorSpanish.Theirparentsaregenerallyeither unemployed or underemployed. The kids start school and more than 30% of them are left back during their first five years in school. The Milagro Center (MC) in Delray Beach runs a 52-weekK-12after-schoolprogram(full-dayinthe summer) to help children of families living below the federalpovertylevel.Theprogramsuppliesthe languageandacademicsupportmissingathome. 98% of the participants in their program have been promoted to the next grade every year. Also, while lessthan50%ofthelocalpopulationwillgraduate high school and less than a third of them are expected to go to college, based on the change in grades, study habits and attitudes 100% of the seniors in MCs Teen Program are going to either a college or a trade school this fall.MCsformulaforsuccessiseasytounderstand.JustbywalkingintotheirYoungChild Centeryouseekidswhoaredoingtheirhomework,participatinginworkshops,asking questions and learning from both professionals and volunteers. At their Teen Center, we saw kids learning about life. Learning to have confidence inand to respectthemselves. MC is giving these kids a chance to escape what could be an endless cycle of poverty. HOThasalsogivenMCgrantsforaSecuritySystem,aWaterCooler,Mathand Literacy Tutors, a Teen Center Van (matching grant), an Academic Tutor for the Teen Program, Summer Field Trip Transportation, and a New Roof (matching grants).MCs current needs are: $8,000 for a security alarm for the middle school building$10,500 for ACT/SAT College Prep Course for Spring and Summer 2019 sessions $10,800for18desktopcomputersfortheMiddleSchoolCenter@$600per computer $20,400 for Literacy and Math Tutors for the K- 5th Grade for Summer and Fall 2019 Semesters $5,100 for each discipline for each time period$26,500 for Academic Tutors for each of the Summer and Fall 2019 Semesters $6,625 for each time period for each of the Middle School and High School programs 26"