Leaving a community is bittersweet. After all, independence is what we want for our communities, right? What about all those relationships we have invested in and the people who felt like family? It can be hard to let go as we grew to love the people there. Like the loss of anyone or anything, we look for the good that has come out of the years we had together.

Graduating San Ramon Network was a hard thing for many of us to wrap our minds around. It was an area we had invested 20 years of support, training, and most importantly relationships into. It felt like a second home to so many of us. As we have reflected, we have found so many heartfelt stories that bring us hope. San Ramon is better because we walked through life with them for two decades, and they are better because we have stepped aside and allowed them to lead into the future. They are now able to carry what they have learned from us and build upon it.

Professionals like Dalila have grown far beyond her parent’s expectations. At her birth, her parents were not sure how they were going to feed their daughter, let alone educate her. Through the support of Rainbow Network, she has been able to become a healthy young woman and a professional nurse. Now, she is stepping up and leading her small community. She has raised the bar for what education and community involvement will be like. Dalila represents the future for San Ramon.

You can hear from Dalila first-hand about her experience with Rainbow Network and see the pride and energy she has to make the future bright. While our graduation of San Ramon has taken place, the celebration of stories like Dalila’s will continue forever.

Megan Herrera, President