Our Impact

Despite Carolyn’s best efforts, she and her boys were again homeless at the Super 8 Hotel in Oshkosh. “My sister Paula, who is a doctor in Chicago and my spiritual mentor, paid for us to have one week in a hotel until we found a place,” she explained.

Unfortunately, though Carolyn had a job at Swanson Wiper, it would be two weeks before she received the first check, and a security deposit was definitely out of reach. Things looked grim, and after five days at the hotel, she had only $30 to her name.

“I’ll go without food and use soap from a restaurant bathroom if necessary, but please let my boys have what they need,” she said.

“I felt really bad for mom and what she was going through, trying to find a place for us,” said Roy. Brother Cam added, “You go to school and want to talk to someone about it, but most of my friends have more than us, and definitely wouldn’t understand. I wanted to help mom, but how could I help chip in?” 

That’s when what Carolyn calls a “miracle” happened after a ride-share driver who knew nothing of their circumstances, prayed for her family, she noted, with tears. “When I look back, oh my God, that prayer turned an absolute mess into a blessing!”

Carolyn’s family was alone in a strange hotel, hardly knowing anyone in town, and yet she ran into an old acquaintance named Amanda, who she had worked with on a job in Neenah. It was then and there that the tables turned. 

“She told me about Julie and Oshkosh Kids, and brought us to a hotel room with food for Cam’Ron and Roy. The moment I walked through those doors had to be heaven sent,” said Carolyn, wiping more tears from her eyes, “because everything that’s happened since February 2020 has been a blessing, to this day.” 

Carolyn’s family is one of three who have been provided affordable housing on the edge of the University of Oshkosh campus through Oshkosh Kids’ partnership with Pine Investments. 

Carolyn felt honored and supported when she was asked about her desires for her boys, though she knew it was impossible financially. “They’re getting older. My dream was for each of them to have their own bedrooms.” She felt heard when Pine Investments made it happen, lowering the rent, based on her income.

Other Oshkosh Kids partners pooled their assets, as well. Heroes of Oshkosh, which rescues clean and gently-used furnishings, provided beds, furniture, a couch and dressers, a microwave, towels and comforters. Cherith International provided needed clothes, and both household and bathroom supplies.

Juggling single motherhood and bread-winning is never easy, but the compassion has snowballed and the three mothers help each other with childcare, when possible, so all can be at work. “We’re a good babysitting team,” says Cam’Ron. “It shows the strengths of our differences. They like to draw with me, and play Fortnite with Roy.”

It’s been a relief, says Carolyn, to know that Oshkosh Kids has their back, having the same mission that moms do, seeing kids graduate from high school and get established in a post-secondary career. 

“We’re here to help with basic needs, from bikes so they get to school to haircuts so they don’t get bullied,” says Julie, who started fighting for homeless families during her years as a community resource coordinator at Oshkosh North.

“Many of us have no idea how many things we take for granted in life can lead to a student’s embarrassment, truancy, or giving up. Our donors came through with $16,000 in needed bus passes just last year, and partners like Continental Girbau and the Corcoran family donated washers and dryers in district buildings so kids like Cam’Ron and Roy and even their homeless peers can count on clean clothes.”

The toughest thing can be finding parents first-shift work that provides a living wage and corresponds with the hours kids are in school. But businesses like Stratagraph, where Carolyn now works up to 60 hours a week, have been great partners.

This critical mass of basic assets has had a wonderful payoff in the Jefferson family, as Cam’Ron has become a role model at Oshkosh North, testing in the top 10% academically. “I always feel stressed,” he admits, “but things are working out. I want to be in the medical field like my auntie.” Everyone sees it would have been a shame for such a bright young man to get lost in the shuffle.

For his part, Roy wants to be a professional quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles!

Julie, without judgment, gets behind his dream, a chance to prove himself. “Let us know when practice starts, Roy, and we’ll help you get cleats!”

While the boys have what they need to get through high school, Carolyn must provide economic stability in a world of entry level jobs even with the uncertainty of COVID-19. But she has her own career aspirations as a health care worker, and while Julie listens, the “can-help” foundation is at work, providing links to other support agencies. 

“The Forward Service Corporation will provide career counseling to get you there, Carolyn. We’ll make sure you get your scrubs, books, computer and Wi-Fi. Once you have your CNA and show that you mean business, they will take you at Fox Valley Tech,” said Julie, giving Carolyn permission to dream.

This is the kind of personal touch it’s hard to find, said Carolyn. “I’ve been told, ‘We’ll help you but not with your children,’ trying to separate us. Or I’ve been told about a job that I didn’t have a car to get to. But Julie and Oshkosh Kids partners are realistic, and they’re on your side. 

“We don’t have to be perfect. We just keep doing our best, and we’re treated with respect,” said Carolyn. “It makes me want to help the next family, and I’m raising my boys to be that way too.”