Speech given at the First Place Annual Fundraising Breakfast
April 29, 2009
Hi I’m Ifrah, a 6th grader at First Place school.
First Place means a lot to me, I come to school in the morning and I see my friends and all the wonderful staff members.
The school itself is bright and cheerful.
And down the hall is Ms. Joyce’s office the volunteer coordinator. She is the nicest person you could ever meet. She got me two tutors and a mentor to help me with my work because she believed I would do great things. Everyone at First Place said I would do great things.
In my first year at first place I wrote a letter to the senators at Olympia, mine was regarding HB 1716 about foster care.
I was surprised when they personally wrote me back it was Representative Eric Pettagrew, and Representative Sharon Tamiko-Santos they all cared what I thought.
I went to Olympia three times my whole life and it was all with First Place and I always wrote about foster care.
I was happy how they told me to always do what I feel would get me to my dream and that I had to work hard to get there.
My dream is to become a lawyer, then a judge, then the first woman president.
I think I am working really hard to get there I am doing great in school and I got a scholarship to Seattle Girls School and Lakeside.
When I first came to First Place I lived in a shelter, I was scared for no reason at all. In my second year I was in foster care for 15 days because my mom was ill.
The staff members and kids were really caring because they knew what I was going through.
I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters and we were all separated because no one wanted to take care of 7 kids except my mom.
I was worried because I did not see them at school. I was really depressed and mad. Why was no one telling me what was going on? Did they think I was OK with it or did not care?
I was 10 years old at the time and now I am 12 and now I see why they were trying to block the pain but the pain was leaking through the cracks it was nice thing to know they were all trying to help but it was overwhelming.
I needed my family.
On the 15th day my dad came to our rescue he picked us all up and we when to his house.
We were all a family again.
But I did not realize I had a family all along, First Place is my family.
