A scholarship gave our family the gift of hope. Now special interests are fighting to kill scholarships for thousands of Illinois children.
“WHEN OUR SON Noah walked up to the Chicago Hope Academy table at the high school fair he asked them just one question, ‘I want to know, do they bully at your school?’
“Two big guys leaned over and said, ‘No one is going to bully you at our school.’
“Noah was born with Loeys-Dietz syndrome. It’s a rare genetic condition with about 5,000 cases in the world. He’s had 18 surgeries and 16 broken bones. But Noah believes in himself, and seeing his perseverance and grit to get through those tough moments in life, we couldn’t be more proud of him. We don’t know if we’d be doing homework while sitting in the hospital recovering from surgery.
Without action, more than 9,600 scholarships for low-income and working-class students will be eliminated.
“School wouldn’t be the first thing on our minds.
“We’re both educators. There’s no way we would have been able to afford his education without help. The scholarship we received with Hope in our corner was amazing. He went to a place where he was loved. A place where he was safe. Where he was comfortable. Where he could grow in faith.
As much as we want to say we found Hope, Hope found Noah.
“Now he’s the valedictorian. And he’s been accepted to Illinois, Northwestern, USC, Stanford and NYU.
“There are more than 9,600 kids in the Invest in Kids scholarship program right now. Kids who are being provided opportunities they never would have had. And there are thousands more on the waitlist. It’s gutwrenching to think Illinois may let this program die. It’s even more gut-wrenching to think a small group of special interests is fighting to kill it.
“We have a motto in our family: ‘We live to let our light shine. And look for opportunities to ignite light in others.’ The light these scholarship students shed in their communities makes the whole world better.
“We cannot let that light burn out. We cannot allow it to happen.”
Heide Padilla, third-grade educator Germaine Padilla, high-school educator
CONTACT YOUR ILLINOIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTLY TODAY AND TELL THEM TO PROTECT THE INVEST IN KIDS TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.