Back in 2020, talking to Coral about the upcoming spring program season, it was clear that she felt a great sense of both joy and responsibility in her role as a volunteer Jr. Leader. She’d dedicated a lot of time, thought and creativity into brainstorming games and decorations to give the kids on her route the most magical and memorable experience possible.
Coral’s passion and insights come from years of volunteering, but also from and entire childhood of attending CityKidz programs herself.
Coral at KinderKidz
“I was one of the originals,” states Coral, proudly referring to her status as one of the first pre-schoolers to ever attend our KinderKidz program.
And from the start, Coral was hooked.
“I felt like I could get attached to anybody,” Coral remembers.
After she got too old for KinderKidz, she started attending CityKidz, then CityYouth and now, Roadmap to Dreams. However, despite her joy and success with each new step of her CityKidz journey, none of Coral’s transitions from one program to the next came easily.
“I don’t like change,” explains Coral.
And Coral found the change from CityYouth to Roadmap to Dreams particularly overwhelming.
“I cried through the first few sessions,” Coral remembers.
While her life-long mentor, Susan, and best friend forever, Crystal were all there in the mentorship program with her, she still felt insecure. She missed the comfortable familiarity of the small group with whom she’d gotten so close. She wasn’t ready to open up again in front of so many new people.
But, bit by bit, with lots of patience and encouragement from friends and mentors, Coral started to open up.
“The mentors are amazing,” Coral concludes in her trademark matter-of-fact tone.
Coral completed her CityKidz program journey in 2021.
Through the Roadmap program, Coral has come to better understand how to manage finances, how to communicate and have difficult conversations, how to trust and how to make her dreams of becoming an Early Childhood Educator a reality.
To help with the costs of her post-secondary pursuits, Coral has recently tapped into her entrepreneurial spirit by starting her own small business, CloudDIY. She found immediate success selling her creations to friends, family and other DIY-loving folks. Seeing that she would need help to meet demand for her products, she saw an opportunity to combine her business pursuits with her passion for childhood learning.
“I decided to hire help from my little cousins,” explains Coral. “It teaches them about money and works on their spelling and counting.”
So far, Coral has sold over 75 keychains and 20 bracelets. And she’s just getting started.
“My goal I have is to make items that bring joy to people and can help people out,” says Coral.
Knowing how important it is to look after your physical and mental health, Coral intends to start making self-care boxes. Her next project, however, will be creating coasters. Always thinking of her community, she plans to donate half of the proceeds from each sale to CityKidz.
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