The nonprofit has been positively impacting the lives of the community they serve for more than a decade.
This year, Achieve Plant City celebrates 12 years of empowering adults to thrive in the community, and break the cycle of poverty, by providing the most basic of needs: the literacy skills needed to reach their full potential.
Founded by Anjelica Ibarra, Achieve Plant City has grown from its grassroots beginnings to become a positive force for hundreds of families looking for a better life for themselves and their children.
“I had established a family literacy program in the West Tampa area but I had always wanted to bring it to Plant City so in September 2011, we opened here,” said Ibarra, who knows firsthand the impact an education can have in lifting families out of poverty.
Born in Mexico, her family emigrated to the U.S. for work, harvesting onions and watermelon in south Texas before eventually making their way to Plant City. They lived a migrant lifestyle with most of her family, which included ten children, working in the fields, traveling from one state to the next, picking strawberries in Florida, onions in Georgia and the Carolinas and cucumbers in Ohio before returning to Plant City.
“I grew up without any books at home, without even considering reading, there was no value placed on reading or education,” she said. “It was pretty hard to focus on education when you’re just trying to survive.”
She mustered the courage to break the cycle when she was in her 20s, getting a GED, attending Hillsborough Community College and then earning a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of South Florida.
After entering the professional workforce, Ibarra decided to not only make a difference in her own life and the lives of her children but others in the community that needed literacy skills to bridge the gaping chasm between misery and hope.
“Everything we do is about…
Read the full article here
