Dear Supporter,

Being a part of Onward House has been a great experience for my family and me. The staff is very nice and very helpful. Onward has plenty of information for low-income families to find the services we need to help our families. Growing up is very tough when you’re poor. I still remember standing in church lines for food. Still to this day, I take part in receiving food from the churches, [which] really helps since I’m on disability.

Onward is amazing and still helping my family to get by every week of the year, and I feel truly blessed to be a part of this family. Thank you for the opportunity to express my gratitude.

– David

David’s Story

Sitting in the park each day, David noticed that his son’s peers were babbling and using words, but his son still wasn’t speaking. An online search for resources was overwhelming, and David put a lot of pressure on himself to help his son talk. David was aware of Onward House, but believed that his son’s delay would keep him out of the program.

(Onward House works with a high number of children with disabilities, some of whom have been denied or turned away from private childcare centers because of their additional needs.)

Now David receives speech therapy to help him learn to make new sounds. Both David and his son have a family support worker to help them navigate special education resources. Because David is on disability, the staff have welcomed David as a classroom volunteer, and also encouraged him to join the Parent Policy Committee.

“Without Onward House, I wouldn’t have known these services were available—I’d still be watching YouTube videos to help him ,” David said. Together, David and his son practice the speech exercises they learn at Onward House when they go home. “He’s improving and I’m very excited to hear him, even when he says ‘No’,” David joked.

When David is ready to transition to kindergarten, our staff will work with the new school to ensure that he is enrolled in services that support his needs. And of course, both will be welcomed into Onward House’s School Age program, which offers continued family support, and academic support for elementary school students.

Support our Annual Fund

Our programs are fine-tuned to address obstacles including: lack of access to affordable early childhood education, food insecurity, digital illiteracy, citizenship and language barriers. Many participants take advantage of more than one class or service.

Our doors have been open for over a century because of generous individuals who believe in our work, and show their support by making a donation to Onward House.

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