STAR PROFILE
Ebony Mercer
Senior, Southeast Raleigh High School
Ebony has been enrolled full-time at
Loaves and Fishes since entering the after-school program as a
kindergarten student in 1993.
Ebony is the oldest of six children –
all of whom have participated in Loaves and Fishes except for the
youngest. An industrious student with a quiet personality, she has always
been a model participant. She has been enrolled in every after-school
program as well as all summer programs and overnight camps for the past 12
years. She has traveled with LAF to Disney World, Washington, D.C. and the
North Carolina beaches where she learned to maneuver a sea kayak. One
summer she participated in a leadership development program at Peace
College.
During the past three years as a Star,
Ebony was an employee at Loaves and Fishes as part of its job training
program and currently is employed by Five Guys Restaurant in North Hills
Mall where she works after school and on the weekends. Although her family
recently moved to Clayton, Ebony’s mother is driving her to Southeast High
School in Raleigh every day in order for her continue working and
attending Loaves and Fishes. She rides the school bus to Loaves and Fishes
every afternoon
This is a very crucial year for Ebony.
She is a strong student, is enrolled in several advanced classes and plans
to attend a liberal arts college. In the coming months, Loaves and Fishes
will provide the following:
- Tutoring if and when
needed.
- School supplies on an
ongoing basis.
- Help with preparation
for a second SAT testing.
- Help with college
research including possible grants and loans.
- Help with arrangements
and transportation for college visits.
- Help with completing
and mailing off college applications with associated fees.
- Help with making
decisions and payments for senior activities and graduation.
- Help with
transportation when needed throughout the year.
- Help with gathering
and shopping for clothes, luggage, bedding, computer and other
necessities for college.
- Encouragement and
support of any kind as needed.
- Advocacy and
participation in school conferences as needed.
- A graduation dinner in
her honor complete with scrapbook complete with memorabilia from her 13
years at Loaves and Fishes.
As an enrolled Star at Loaves and
Fishes, Ebony will also be eligible to participate in Girls Group which
meets weekly for dinner, promotes discussion of issues that are pertinent
to high school students, and provides peer support with appropriate adult
leadership. Ebony will also have an opportunity on these occasions to
influence her peers at Loaves and Fishes in a positive way, just as she
has for many years.
Ebony will be invited to participate
in special Star outings as well as an end-of-year trip. Her mother will be
required to attend two reviews with LAF staff during the year and her
family will be invited to attend the Family Christmas Dinner, the
end-of-year celebration at Loaves and Fishes in May called “Celebranza,”
and Ebony’s graduation party. Throughout the year, the family will also be
eligible for crisis assistance, personal or family counseling and other
opportunities that aim to increase the family’s quality of life.
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