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"Hi, I am writing today to let you know how the Access program with the YMCA has helped my family.  In today’s world a one income family usually cannot afford to do the things that most two income families can do.  I had my second child in August of 2008.  I had decided that it was not worth going back to work.  I would spend most, if not all, of my paycheck on Daycare, and I would be away from my children.  So I made the difficult decision to give up my career in Accounting. This was especially hard because I had just gotten my associates degree at SCCC in 2007.  I finally had the career I always wanted.  I worked for a local credit union in the Accounting Dept.  And I loved my job, but it was not a financially sound decision to stay at work.  I had to do what made sense for my family.

After staying home for one year, I decided that I needed to do something to live the life that I wanted for my family.  We could not do the things that we wanted or live the life we wanted on only one income.  Living paycheck to paycheck, we barely could afford the $30 I needed to get my DBA.  Things were also tough trying to save for the equipment I would need to open a cleaning business.  But I knew that if I put my mind to it, I could make this happen.  I had to do this for my family.  I didn’t want to have a dead end job, working paycheck to paycheck forever.  I needed to do something bigger, something that would give us security in the future. 

I realized in order to make this a reality I would need childcare for my 16 month old son.  My daughter attended Lally center 2 years prior and I knew it was the place I wanted my son to be.  But I also knew that affording the tuition would be a burden on our family. I contacted the Lally Center in Scotia.  The Director, Lori was a great person to work with.  We talked about the access program and how it could help me with childcare while we got the business off the ground.  My 1st child is in elementary school while my 2^nd child attends the Lally center 3 days a week.  I am able to get the things I need to get done for the business on those days because of the Access program.  I hope to be successful in my business endeavors and someday pay back into the Access program.  There is a very good chance that without this program my dream of owning a business would not be a reality. 

Thank you Schenectady YMCA and Lally Center for giving my family and I a chance at the “American Dream” with the Access Program.  Your help has enabled me to move forward with my business.  And I can only hope that this means bright things for our future.  Without your support none of this would be possible."