Life Stories & Thank You Letters

Dear Incentive Program,
I would like to thank you for supporting/donating for kids like us who can’t afford to go to Bogus or even rent gear, or get outfitted to go up to Bogus to go Skiing or Snowboarding. I had a really good time at Bogus and I learned a few steps also. Bogus is one of the places I always wanted to go to. I always make friends up there, and have a really good time. I enjoy the staff, there always to nice; I go up to Bogus whenever I have extra cash. I really can’t afford to go snowboarding mainly because I don’t have a job to pay for gas to drive up to Bogus. Yes, I have a car, but I received my car from my dads disability money. The disability money I received from “Rollback” was $5,000.00, which at the time was a huge amount to me. So, I had to give $1,000.00 to my mom and I kept $4.000.00 of it to buy my first car. When I bought my car, I wasn’t thinking about gas at all. All I thought about was me actually driving my own car to school. I was extremely happy. I bought a 1996 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition, which also get 17mpg. 17mpg isn’t enough; it’s not a lot at all. I drive from Nampa to Boise then from Boise to Nampa every day. I drive 50 miles round trip every day just to get to school. I only get $150.00 a month for gas, it’s actually my mom’s child support money, but she’s kind enough to let me have the it to spend on gas so I can go to school. And you guys are probably thinking “Well, get a job kid” but this isn’t the ‘90s anymore. To get a job, you must know someone working or that owns a business. I filled out over 100 online applications. Only got called once, and they didn’t hire me. I only get to see my dad once a week, same goes for my girlfriend. If I had a job I could help support my mom and her bills. She was just diagnosed with cancer, and my dad also has cancer. Both of my parents are dying, and their spending all their money on hospital bills. My dad’s final wish is to see my brother and I graduate high school, and go to college, that’s also my moms wish. If I just had a job, I could help them pay the bills. I could go see my dad more, actually spend time with him. And actually take my girlfriend out, instead of staying at her house and watching movies on her TV, because I’m to poor to treat her out. I could help my mom out with paying house bills, and other stuff. I’ve tried for eight months now to get a job, I’ve filled out over 100 online applications, and went to stores asking for work, every time they said “Go online and fill it out”, so that’s what I did. But no one wants to hire a 17 year old. I would go to school in Nampa, but no alternative school will accept me. Only Frank Church does. I’m trying to graduate early so that I can have my diploma and maybe then I’ll get a job. So I just wanted to thank you guys for supporting this program and actually caring. My teacher Mr. Hawley is one of the most caring teachers and tries to help anyone with any situation. And you guys supporting this program gives other kids a chance, to do a lot in this world. So again, thank you for all you’ve done. It truly means a lot to kids like us.

-Thank you for Actually Caring