Monique, 20 years old, VA | 4 DAYS WAITING | NEEDED BY 11/06

Wish submitted by:

Monique keeps a small jar on her windowsill, where she drops a coin after getting through a hard day, a private tradition that started when she first moved out on her own and wasn’t sure she’d make it. She spent most of her childhood in foster care and aged out with a trash bag of belongings, a part-time job, and no one to call when the rent was due. Monique works the early shift at a pharmacy and spends her evenings in a dental assistant program, determined to build a career with steady hours and a paycheck she can count on. She’s resourceful and quick to laugh. She rarely asks for help, because she’s learned that asking doesn’t always lead anywhere, but she lights up when someone shows her they’re paying attention. Monique has had to be her own safety net for most of her life, and she deserves a community that finally holds the net for her.

Monique pours so much of herself into getting through each day, between early shifts at the pharmacy, studying, and the endless work of building a life on her own, that she rarely makes time to be gentle with herself. A ReFa heart comb would be a small, lovely luxury, a quiet ritual she can fold into her morning or wind down with at night, something that feels like care rather than obligation. For a young woman who has had to be her own safety net for as long as she can remember, a gift whose only purpose is to make her feel cherished is a rare and tender thing. Your gift would give Monique a moment of softness in a life that has demanded so much strength, and remind her she is worth caring for.