Youth Programs Client Stories

Linda is one of our Youth Program's recent success stories. Her parents came to America from Cambodia as refugees and moved into our low-income Minnie Street neighborhood. Her parents speak limited English and rely of public assistance for support. Linda is the only daughter among six siblings. She joined our Youth Program six years ago and has been active ever since. With the help of our Youth staff, Linda improved academically, gained self-confidence, and became a leader, both in school and at our center. In high school, she was class Treasurer and President of the school key club. At The Cambodian Family, she was President of our Youth Advisory Board. She also volunteered her time assisting our dance instructor, teaching kids Cambodian traditional dance and she performed at many community events. Last summer, Linda graduated from high school with a GPA of 4.315. She ranked 4th in her class of 531 students. She received enough money in scholarships and grants to let her pursue her dreams of higher education. She has now successfully finished her first year at the University of California, San Diego. Linda has continued to give back to her community. She volunteered to give our kids a tour of the UCSD campus. She has also volunteered to help us lead activities at our annual Youth Program camping trip. Her youngest brother has been participating in our program since 2002. He has made major improvements in his grades and we are pleased to see him follow in his sister"s footsteps on a path to success.

Testimonials from Youths

"The Cambodian Family Youth Program has helped me a lot. They helped me improve my reading. Now I"m in a higher reading class. They made sure I finished my homework in time and made sure I did it right. They also made sure I did my assignment neatly… This program helps us avoid being in a gang. It helps the community achieve better things and helps make our community safer."

"The Cambodian Family helped me with my grammar and spelling, by giving me a worksheet almost every day. Last year, when I was in 6th grade, I was in a standard Language Arts class, but this year I'm in an honors language arts class. Also, The Cambodian Family got me to like math.I hated math when I came here, but Ms. Lim said that I'm really good at it… Now math is my favorite subject in school."

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