“You’ve got this, Dawn. We believe in you!”
Those were the words that floated through Dawn’s mind as she woke up that sunny morning in May.
They were the words that had carried her through from the moment she received her first cash grant to our Live Your Dream Awards program. And those were the words behind every gift from donors like you.
That cash grant, and the ones that followed, gave Dawn agency. By giving her the power to decide how best to use the money, the Live Your Dream Awards and support from Soroptimist members gave her the confidence to take the next step toward a better future.
Later that day, Dawn looked out into the audience with tears in her eyes as she walked on stage to receive her law degree from the University of British Columbia. She zeroed in on her two daughters, who smiled back at her with love, pride and encouragement.
It was a surreal moment for Dawn—one she never would have dreamed of just a few years before.
For Dawn, this was an extraordinary achievement.
Like all our award recipients, Dawn had major obstacles to overcome in her journey to become a lawyer.
When she was a little girl, she dreamed of practicing law and changing the world. But in reality she was living a nightmare, and eventually her dreams faded away.
Dawn’s parents were just children themselves when she was born. Two teenagers whose lives were defined by poverty and violence, they parented Dawn the way they’d been parented themselves.
Dawn turned to alcohol at the young age of 8 to numb herself from the years of physical and sexual abuse she had endured.
At 11, she was placed into the child welfare system. By 12, she was living on the streets and addicted to crack cocaine. At 13, she dropped out of school.
At 15, still a child herself, she was involved in an abusive relationship and became pregnant.
Those obstacles and traumas could easily have defeated anyone ... but not Dawn.
One day she woke up on the kitchen floor, surrounded by her own blood after a particularly violent beating from her then partner.
She looked into the eyes of her infant daughter …
… and decided then and there to break the cycle of abuse and violence.
During her many weeks of recovery in the hospital, Dawn summoned her inner strength and began planning to take back her life. She knew that education was the path she needed to take. Education would lead to financial independence and to her youthful dreams coming true.
Dawn took her first steps toward independence.
After deciding to leave her old life behind, Dawn was accepted into the distance education program at the University of Victoria to complete her Bachelor of Arts in child and youth care.
By this time, her family had grown. Dawn had adopted her brother’s young daughter, who’d been in the care of child welfare. She was now a single parent working full time to fund her full-time education and accumulating debt.
Evidence shows that a quality education—more than any other intervention or solution— holds the greatest potential to transform the lives of women and their children.
Dawn was in a state of financial crisis, and her plans were in real danger of being derailed.
She remembers there would be times without much food. Many nights, she’d make dinner for her girls but not have enough to feed herself.
After Dawn received her first Live Your Dream Award she no longer had to choose between affording groceries and her education.
Your support helped Dawn get out of survival mode and make room for education while still caring for her daughters.
Dawn recently completed her studies and will go on to make an incredible difference in the lives of her daughters, her community and the world. Her legal career will focus on marginalized women facing the same obstacles she faced herself.
Dawn will touch the lives of countless women. You can too.
