On February 14, 2021 we released our 2019-2020 annual report. In it we share how the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools has supported students, educators and schools. We invite readers to learn more about Amanda, a mother in the LPS community.
The Foundation for LPS helps build a stronger Lincoln. We only have to look back to last March to understand how central public schools are to our community. Our schools provide breakfast and lunch for students that have little in their homes, they provide care and supervision during the day, they provide access to technology and a caring adult working side by side to support our students’ educational journeys. All of those safety nets were tested as our community began to shelter in place last spring.
For Amanda, a single mom of two boys that attend North Star High School, the reality of how COVID-19 challenged our community was felt deeply. As a driver for Lyft the need diminished overnight. “It was rough,” Amanda recounted. “There was just no work. No one was taking taxis to go to doctors appointments. People weren’t going anywhere.”
The boys helped out where they could. Both had jobs and they took turns paying for the internet and getting groceries, but Amanda worried how she was going to continue to pay the bills especially when both boys lost their fast food jobs. “COVID-19 affected the boys emotionally. My youngest son was diagnosed with anxiety. All I wanted to do is keep my boys in the same place for consistency. I was trying to find job after job. I felt like surely after 20 applications I would get something.”
