When I met Dana,* she was a quiet, troubled kindergartner. For our first outing, I took Dana to the Friends of the Children office for a birthday party. I thought it would be a good way to draw her out of her shell. Unfortunately, things did not go as expected.

Dana spent the entire time in silence, with her eyes on the ground and her arms locked at her sides. No one in the room could convince her to ask for a slice of cake. I mean, what five-year-old turns down cake? How could such a seemingly great plan go so terribly wrong?

A lot became clear to me when I began to visit Dana at home each week. Ten people share the cramped two-bedroom apartment where Dana lives with her parents. Beds and piles of clothes fill every available space. Dana’s mother suffers from an anxiety disorder that keeps her at home most of the time. Having experienced abuse as a child and feeling wary of her neighborhood, Dana’s mother insisted that her daughter stay close to home. Though her parents are kind people, Dana’s home life is far from nurturing or stable.

It took many months of visits for me to earn the trust of Dana’s parents. But once I did, I was allowed take Dana around the neighborhood and eventually beyond. We started in my neighborhood’s community garden. It needed a lot of work! Restoring our little corner of the garden became a mission for Dana. Over time, Dana’s mom permitted me to take Dana on her first ever shopping trip to Home Depot.  We carefully read the plant tags to determine which flowers and seedlings might do best in our pocket garden. By the end of the summer, we had a bountiful plot, filled with colorful zinnias and marigolds, snap peas and pole beans. Over time, Dana started taking swimming lessons at the Swim Gym, two buses and a subway ride away. Her self-confidence grew and I was amazed by how much she began to open up.

Dana’s first-grade teacher was also impressed by Dana and recommended that she be evaluated for one of the city’s programs for gifted children. When I discovered that Dana had missed the last testing date, I worked with the city to find a way that she might apply. It worked!

Now, Dana is flourishing in this accelerated academic program that is rich with music, dance and other artistic opportunities. If you could watch her skip down the halls, you would see a poised, self-confident girl who laughs and chats easily with her friends and even adults. What an incredible distance this child has traveled and what a thrill to be by her side.

* Names have been changed to protect our children.  The stories do not correlate with the child pictured.