Deirdre’s Story

When I was younger, I sometimes lived with my grandma and sometimes with my dad. I was anxious all the time because nothing in my life was stable. I thought everyone hated me. The kids at school made fun of me; making me cry and I just couldn’t stop. In the beginning at Rainbows, I would fall apart if I thought one of the other girls was being mean to me or if I made a mistake in my journal. I would run and lock myself in the bathroom, or I’d go and hide under a blanket.

 But the teachers and volunteers never gave up on me. Someone would just sit beside me when I was upset and wait until I could talk about what had happened. They helped me see things from a different point of view.

 It was a real surprise to me at how good I was at the stuff we did at Rainbows. There was no specific way that something had to be done, and we always had a choice of which projects and activities we wanted to do. While some kids were doing yoga, others might be building a model of a bridge. That made everything so not stressful

 I started to love going to Rainbows because it was the one place where I felt really safe. The same things happened every day at the same time. Everyone was kind. The other kids included me. The things we did were fun and fascinating. I realize now that the teachers worked hard at finding out what interested us, and then they’d plan projects and activities around those things. We were always learning new stuff … even manners!

 I’m now in high school. After Rainbows, I joined the 4-H Club and became a leader in several of their programs. I also started playing hockey. I would never have done those things before Rainbows, and now I’m working hard to get my high school diploma because I want to attend college. I have a job in a local store and I’m saving money for my tuition. The other day one of the volunteers from Rainbows came into the shop where I work and we talked while I rang up and packaged the scarf she had bought. She left the store, but then she returned and said to me, “It was a pleasure to have you help me today. Your smile made my day, and I don’t know how you chat, run my credit card and wrap a package simultaneously. You’re pretty amazing!” This felt so good to hear.