To the Editor:
“Just sit down! Do what you’re doing but different!” my husband proclaimed from halfway down an unexpectedly steep, snowy mountain. Our daughter and “host daughter” were learning to ski, and let’s just say… my husband is far from being a ski instructor.
We’ve laughed at that moment and countless others throughout the past three years and my eyes well up with tears when I remember that this year is our last with our A Better Chance of Wilton (ABC) scholar, our host-daughter/sister, our friend. Of course we will keep in touch. We can’t wait to visit her at college and take all of her friends out for dinner. We can’t wait to see where life takes her, and (with her blessing), we’re already thinking of grandparent names… “Is it weird if we’re ‘host grandma and grandpa’”? 🤔 But there’s nothing like seeing her raid the freezer for her favorite popsicles, plop down on my couch for family movie night, or run to McDonald’s for fries and a giant Dr. Pepper in the middle of the night. We love her like our own and hope to be in her life for all of ours.
A Better Chance of Wilton offers highly motivated high school students of color the opportunity to live in Wilton and obtain an exemplary education that may not be available to them in their home districts. The host family aspect of the program is vital, and we’re still in need of three Wilton families to host an incoming freshman girl on Sundays and one weekend a month this school year.
The commitment? Host an ABC student on Sundays and one weekend a month for the upcoming school year. The rest of the time the girls live in the ABC House in town.
Need a Sunday or weekend off? We have plenty of backup!
Feel like you’re too busy? Don’t shy away from this great opportunity because of a busy schedule. Your job is not to entertain the ABC student but to include them in your life.
Please contact me by email if you’re willing to open your home!
Shannon MacDonald