Your gift gives back
“At the beginning of this pandemic, everything we were doing as an EMT became 10 times harder.” Twenty-six-year-old Reyna has been working as an EMT and front-line worker throughout the Covid-19 crisis. It is hard to imagine her small frame lifting grown men from a third-floor apartment down the stairs to the ambulance below, but as she tells stories of her job she beams with pride because she knows she is making a difference. She is passionate about serving her city.
And you gave her the support to help our city.
Originally from Mexico, she came to the United States when she was four years old. Her father brought her family across the border because he was having difficulties finding work to care for his family as a mechanic. They settled in Chicago and she has grown up here with her close-knit family.
She recalls not sharing her family’s situation with many because of fear. But when she connected with World Relief’s Immigration Legal Services team, opportunities were opened. She started the DACA application process right after high school and was approved in a matter of months. Reyna shares, “I could do so many new things. I was able to have job opportunities. I never really thought I would go to college and I do not think my family ever expected I would be able to go to college because I was undocumented. We never knew what we could and could not do.”
After receiving a scholarship for being in the top 10% of her high school class, Reyna began college studying Computer Science. After a year of studying, she realized what she really wanted to do was be a part of the medical community, so she became an EMT. Her goal now is to continue her studies to become a nurse and hopes to work in an emergency room.
You provided new possibilities. Reyna is providing her patients the very best.
She has gone above and beyond in her job even carrying a fanny pack with extra supplies like masks for people that do not have them because for her “being there for my patients is my job.”
Reyna is a vibrant and brave young woman who like many essential workers is risking her safety to serve others during this crisis in our nation.
“When people ask me if I am Hispanic or Mexican or American, I say that I feel Mexican-American. I am both and Chicago is home, and it is where I belong. I fell in love with this city. And I want to help Chicagoans.”
She beams with gratefulness because your support has opened more opportunities in her life, “I so appreciate World Relief’s advice – it is one of those places you can definitely trust.”