Rocco, 8 years old, VA | 1 DAY WAITING

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Rocco is a determined boy who has had plenty of practice getting back up. He entered foster care when he was small and has moved between a few homes and schools, each time starting over as the new kid. He has learned that the world doesn’t always stay steady, and that sometimes the best thing to do is to try again. At the neighborhood skate park, the older kids sometimes let him borrow their boards, and he watches them with wide eyes, memorizing every trick and imagining the day he’ll land one of his own. Rocco is spirited, funny, and fearless in a way that sometimes makes his caregivers hold their breath. He cheers loudest for everyone else’s tricks, and he never gives up on his own. He dreams of becoming a pro skater someday, and he is practicing every chance he gets. What Rocco needs most are steady adults who cheer him on, keep him safe, and believe that every tumble is a step toward his dream.

Rocco keeps count of his falls. “That’s twelve,” he will announce, brushing off his knees and climbing right back onto the board. “I’m getting better.” He says it with a grin that makes it hard to worry about him, because he truly believes it. He dreams of becoming a pro skater, and he practices whenever he can. For a long time, he has borrowed boards that don't quite fit and waited for his turn at the park, promising himself that someday he will have one of his own. This Christmas, he hopes to find a skateboard that is truly his, waiting for him. It would let him practice whenever he wants, learn new tricks at his own pace, and feel like a real part of the skate park crowd. It would be something to be proud of, something to take care of, and something no one can ask him to give back. For a boy who has had to start over many times, a board of his own on Christmas morning would be a way to roll forward toward the dream he is chasing.