Faith... came to Thrive (originally called Circles) in 2013 as a young single mom with a three-year old daughter.  She was living in transitional housing provided by StepStone, an agency that helps victims of domestic violence.  She was working hard at three part-time jobs, but had no benefits.  Her income was $18,000 to $20,000 per year and she was receiving assistance from the State in the form of food stamps and a medical card for her daughter.  She mostly used the bus for transportation, although occasionally she had access to cars—but they always seemed to break down. 
Faith remembers that during her first year with Thrive there were times that she would not have eaten if it had not been for the Thrive community meal.  Thrive often sends home leftovers with the participants who live in poverty, and Faith was grateful for the food and a meal she did not have to prepare, since working three jobs and parenting a preschooler was exhausting.
Faith appreciated that Thrive provided her with a social network that included professionals, but didn’t require her to spend money to participate.  Her confidence and self-esteem grew as she realized that her volunteer team (“allies”) actually cared about her.  Because of connections with other members of the Thrive community she was offered a job at the Kansas Leadership Center at a wage that lifted her out of poverty and provided benefits.  She worked there four years, saving money toward her dream of owning rental property.  In 2018 she bought a duplex, to use half as a home for herself and her daughter and the other half to rent.  She owns a reliable car and receives no assistance from the State or other entities.
Faith firmly believes that Thrive offers beneficial resources that should be offered to many more people—to give them a boost toward thriving, instead of just surviving.

Ebony.... is a single mom with two daughters who was matched with Thrive volunteers (allies) in the fall of 2015.  Shortly after that she was offered a $10.00 per hour job at a call center, but she did not have a car.  She could ride a bus to work, but buses did not run late enough to ride back home.  So that she could have a job, three allies took turns giving her one-way rides for six months, until she received her income tax refund and could buy a cheap used car.  More than four years later, she still works for the same call center and has worked her way up to the position of team leader, making $15.00 per hour.  Had she not had assistance with transportation from Thrive allies in the beginning, she would not have been able to keep this job.  Along the way she has purchased a more reliable car.  Her dream has been to move out of the tiny two bedroom apartment where she and the girls lived for more than ten years.  Recently she achieved that dream and moved into a three bedroom town house.  She continues to keep in touch with one of her allies who now lives in assisted living.  The encouragement they give each other is still an important part of both of their lives.

Tisha... grew up with two alcoholic parents and later found herself in an abusive marriage.  When she came to Thrive in 2015, she was newly divorced and had two children, ages 3 and 13 to support.   Wanting a job that would pay the bills, she had decided on nursing and had just started nursing school.  Through her first three semesters of school, and her team of three Thrive volunteers believed in her and encouraged her.  It was the first time in her life that she had experienced that kind of support. 
Nursing turned out to be her calling and she now is a traveling nurse, spending 13 weeks at a time in different hospitals.  She loves her work and is financially stable.   In addition to finding a career she loves that has lifted her out of poverty, she has found the space in her life to give back to her community.  She helps organize a city-wide Christian concert every three months that is usually attended by 250 to 300 people.  She has taught Financial Peace University at her church and has set a goal for herself to save enough to buy a house outright, without a mortgage.   She also has a small side business designing and making T-shirts for concerts and churches. 
Tisha and one member of her team became good friends and maintained their friendship after she completed the Thrive 18-month program.  They met occasionally for coffee to catch up with each other until he passed away from cancer in mid 2019.  She says that having the support of someone who truly cared about her and believed in her was the most important part of her experience with Thrive.

Elizabeth... “When I reflect on where my life was when I first came to Thrive I have to say that besides being in situational poverty I was in a lot of devastation. I was not confident that I could pull myself out of the situation that I was in. I was not really excited about opening up my life to a room full of strangers at Circles (now Thrive). Overtime, I could see that God had arranged for me to be in Thrive and to meet people who had confidence in areas where I lacked competence. I met people who had knowledge about resources that I didn’t have. I met people who had life skills I lacked and who could share their wisdom. By attending meetings every week and learning different subjects every week, I was put in a situation where I had to keep facing my problems. Even though it felt like the progress was slow after the 18 months, I could say that I had taken great steps in coming out of the situational poverty and the devastation. For example, one of my allies offered to open all my unopened bills. I had stop looking at my bills because I had no money to pay them. Looking at them just reminded me one more time of the poverty that I was in. So, she opened my bills for me and let me know that I owed about $140,000. Today six years later, I can say that almost all of those bills have been resolved.  I Look forward to paying off the last amount this year. Thrive, through the relationships I formed, the resource contacts I made and practical lessons I learned, was a crucial help during the worst time in my life. “
 

Amanda’s... life has changed dramatically since 2017.  She and her two sons, ages three and five at the time, came to Thrive in September of 2017 through Family Promise, a non-profit that helps stabilize homeless families.  At that point she had no home, no transportation, and no job or income.  She was applying for all kinds of jobs, but not getting any call-backs. 
The Getting Ahead class at Thrive helped her understand the reasons why she was in poverty and how she could change that.  Through education nights she has learned a lot, including how to keep a budget and build a relationship with a bank.  The goals she has set help keep her accountable and show both Amanda and her team of volunteers (“allies”) when there is progress.  When hiccups occur she can talk to her allies, who have helped her stay calm in a crisis and work through solutions instead of freaking out over the worst case scenarios in her mind.  She says Thrive keeps her sane and grounded.  She finds it amazing to have friends that she sees every week, encouraging to know she is not the only one going through struggles, and uplifting to share stories of progress.  She appreciates having healthy and safe relationships.  The support system she has built through Thrive also has helped her with child care when her children are sick.
Through her connections in Thrive she found a job in July 2018, paying $11.00 an hour in her chosen field of aviation manufacturing.  She likes the work and invested herself in it by joining the company safety committee.  She had a couple of promotions with raises, including the responsibility of training new employees in her department.  She owns a car and is renting a house without subsidy.  She still qualifies for food and childcare assistance, but she is committed to working up the ladder in her employment.  After working at her job for a year and a half, she was laid off recently along with many other aviation workers.  She is using this opportunity to go back to school at WSU Tech, and because of the skills she learned during her employment, in five months she will have an Associates Degree in Applied Science Aviation.  She is looking forward to a bright future.

Sarina... was part of the first group to be matched with volunteers in 2013 when Thrive (originally called Circles) began in Wichita.  She was a single mom with four children living at home—ages 8 mo., 1 year, 2 years, and 8 years old.  She was doing office work at a Via Christi clinic for $12 per hour and lived in a small rental house where her rent was subsidized by HUD.  She also received State assistance for child care and food, and medical cards for the kids. 
Sarina says her team of three volunteers helped her in so many ways, especially by listening.  Before Thrive she had no one she could trust in her life and no one to talk to about the difficulties of being a single mom living in poverty.  Through Thrive she learned about a State program that would help her save money for her own home.  Using that program she saved enough to purchase a lot and have a house built through a City program similar to Habitat for Humanity.  As she worked toward this goal, navigating the system was not always easy.  Her allies encouraged her to be an advocate for herself, which helped her be successful in accomplishing her goal of being a home owner.
Six years after she began participating in Thrive, Sarina has been promoted several times at Via Christi and now makes over $16 per hour.  She recently gained more responsibility at work when she became Lead Volunteer Coordinator in addition to her regular job.  She has a better car and has learned how to maintain it so that it doesn’t break down.  She is off of all assistance except medical cards for the kids.  She also served as the Thrive Site Coordinator for three years and currently is the director of a non-profit called New Life Creations.  She is committed to giving back to the community by helping people who live in poverty find needed resources, and she