If you ask one of our Local Leaders how working at Casa this year has impacted their life, they will not likely answer by talking about themselves, but rather about the sense of empowerment they have to affect their younger peers in the neighborhood. They will say things like “I feel like it’s my duty to serve as an example to the (Kids Club) kids by continuing my education.” Or: “…(in) everything I do, I can be someone these kids can trust in.” If you speak with them further, you may detect a  growing confidence in their voices as they discuss having managed the pressures of school and work without their grades suffering. Ask them about their futures and you may witness the surge of motivation that comes from having recently clarified their passions and career goals. And as you listen to them talk about Kids Club kids, it is clear that what unites them is a common thread uniting the entire Casa family: the well-being and development of their children. One Local Leader gushes about the hand-written invitation to graduation a 5th grader gave her, another about observing the third graders being so “happy and eager to help the first graders in reading and homework.”  As these local Leaders join with the parents and parent leaders, volunteers, mentors, staff and donors in the challenge to transform a neighborhood not just for themselves but for the next generation, they become united, confident, empowered, and motivated.