Her community helped put her on the road to success. Now she wants to give back.
A Personal Mission
Meet Liz Cintron, a senior at Georgetown University and a shining example of how helping one person realize their dreams is a victory for all of us.
Liz's Path to Success
Liz is eager to succeed. All she needs is the opportunity.
Liz is studying to become a nurse. She dreamed big and worked hard to get this far, but like each and every one of us, she also received some help along the way. Liz was able to save enough money to attend Georgetown in part because of her involvement with a Youth IDA (individual development assets) program supported by United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. The program matches the savings of participants, while providing a combination of rigorous financial literacy training and peer support.
Liz’s journey reflects the broader journey of the community she calls home. She was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a town hit hard by the recession of the early 1990s and again with the global recession that began in 2008.
Despite all the challenges, Lawrence is a testament to the enduring belief that together we can build a better tomorrow. Nicknamed the “Immigrant City,” Lawrence has always been a beacon for individuals and families looking for a better life. First came the Irish in the 1840s, driven to cross the Atlantic in search of new opportunities during the hardship of the Great Potato Famine. The wave of European immigration continued until the 1920s; four decades later, Hispanics hailing from Latin America led a new wave of immigration.
Today, nearly three quarters of the people living in Lawrence are Hispanic, and many of them speak Spanish as their first language. The language barrier can be an impediment to climbing the ladder of opportunity, but it’s not the only one. That’s why United Way partnered with local non-profit Lawrence CommunityWorks to connect people with services ranging from financial education and coaching to career training and job search assistance, credit counseling, English as a Second Language (ESL), free tax preparation assistance, and more – all under one roof.
