The story: When Reason to Give met Josefina, she was clear that her greatest desire was to provide her daughters with a computer. That was back in February of 2008—Josefina's eldest daughter Vanessa had been accepted to Northeastern University and is now in her second semester taking her GenEd requirements as she works her way through a Criminal Justice major. Choosing Criminal Justice was easy for Vanessa who lost her brother to gang related violence and wants to be a part of positive change in Chicago by making the streets a safer place.

Josefina told Reason to Give that she still can't fully believe her family has received a computer, and that she sometimes wakes up hoping it isn't a dream! These days, functioning as a college, high school or even middle school student without a computer means waiting in lines for hours at public libraries with limited computer availability. While this is a reality for many people, it can surely be discouraging. Reason to Give is so happy to fulfill the wishes of Josefina and her daughters by supplying them with a computer and printer that is truly needed.

We wish Vanessa the very best at Northeastern and applaud her desire to help stop street violence and her pursuit of a Criminal Justice major. We know Josefina and Stephanie will benefit from access to a personal computer as well; Stephanie has already begun using it for school and Josefina is excited to learn.We have so enjoyed getting to know and working with Josefina, Vanessa and Stephanie—we're so glad we could help make this dream come true!