Success Stories | Davious
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
This is a common question posed to young people throughout their childhood.
Of course, the responses vary from children wanting to become professional athletes, lawyers,doctors, or high-ranking government officials who can impact the world.
These are all respectable goals, but these young children with big dreams soon find there are more barriers than they can count to the achievement of these dreams – barriersthat stand in the way of what could be tremendous success for the youth and their family.
One of the most common barriers to reaching goals, as well as simply attaining basic self-sufficiency, is the transportation barrier.
Without transportation, many lack the resources to get to and from a place of employment.
Without the ability to obtain employment, poverty and homelessness follow closely behind.
In this cycle, further education just doesn’t make it on the list of priorities when housing and food are the biggest unknowns for those facing such a crisis.
This was certainly the case for Davious.
Davious, a young man who successfully graduated from Eckerd Connects Project Bridge with a tremendous amount of success, was facing this very crisis.
This 20-year-old graduated among the top students of his class and was in line for a football scholarship because of his extraordinary athletic skills.
Unfortunately, he was the primary caregiver for his ill grandmother and had to decide between going to school on scholarship or staying behind, getting a job, and caring for his grandmother.
He chose the latter and cared for her faithfully.
Davious successfully secured full-time employment and has been a star employee for well over a year, gaining the respect of his employer for his dedicated work ethic.
Recently, Davious’ vehicle broke down and was irreparable. This left Davious in the vicious cycle of expending all his income on public transportation, just to get to and from work.
Davious’ employer noticed this cycle and generously stepped in, along with other Eckerd Connects supporters, to donate so that Davious could purchase a reliable used automobile and auto insurance for six months.
That’s not all!
Marvin Mouzon, the Program Manager who has served as a mentor to Davious, walked with the young man through every step of the process – researching the most affordable vehicles, test driving each vehicle, and purchasing insurance.
Today, Davious is the proud owner of a new-to-him vehicle that helps him get to and from BOTH of his jobs so he can earn more money.
Davious’ hope is that the extra income will help him become stable in his living conditions. Once he reaches stability, he wants to finally go to college to become an electrician, breaking the vicious cycle of poverty in his family “forever.”
Thank you to the gracious donors who saw the need and stepped up as heroes in Davious’ life.
Thank you to Marvin for going the extra mile to mentor Davious through the process.
And Kudos to Davious for not quitting when the barriers seemed as though they couldn’t be overcome.
YOU can help young people just like Davious! You’re just one click away from making a life-long impact.