The Sundt Foundation, our company’s charitable arm that gives employee-owners opportunities to support causes in their communities, has provided five grants since 2010 to A Stepping Stone Foundation in Phoenix. Stepping Stone has offered preschool with required parent participation for underserved families in Arizona since 1990.
Sundt Intern Oswaldo Robledo was part of A Stepping Stone program when he was in preschool. That experience set the groundwork for his academic career, which will include a degree in Construction Management from Arizona State University in May. Oswaldo recently took some time to discuss the impact A Stepping Stone has had on his life.
How did A Stepping Stone help your family when you were young?
Not only did A Stepping Stone provide a wonderful preschool education for my cousins and I, they also provided English as a Second Language and GED classes for parents and child care for families with younger children while parents were in school. Even though my mother was not able to fully learn English, my aunt was able to get her GED testing paid for while I was in the program. I also remember that during Christmas, they would give presents. One year my family was chosen as the “adopted family” and my teacher at the time, Mrs. Milks, arrived with her van full of presents for everybody in my family.
How much of a difference did the organization’s support help your school?
With government always cutting education funds, especially Head Start Programs, A Stepping Stone was always above government-funded programs thanks to organizations and companies that would provide funding. Not only did I have an above-average preschool education, I also had breakfast and lunch served (most preschools did not receive meals at the time).
Why is it so vital for communities to have organizations like A Stepping Stone?
Programs like A Stepping Stone not only provide for the children but also for the parents. I think low-income families and minorities benefit the most from this and I believe that I am a perfect example of what a great preschool education can do for your future. A Stepping Stone also provided me with a scholarship once I started college. I was able to buy my laptop for school with this money and a couple of textbooks once my semester started. Otherwise I would have had to borrow money from parents or someone to buy myself a laptop for school. I think more programs like A Stepping Stone would help kids stay in school and stay away from drugs.
How does it feel to work for a company that gives back to something that means so much to you?
It feels great! It’s like a way of giving back what I once received and I feel privileged to work for a company that provided for my education years ago. I think our communities would do way better if more companies would do what Sundt does.