Her after-school arrangement had become unreliable, and every missed workday threatened the rent.

“Could the community center offer homework help?” she asked.

“Even twice a week would make a difference.”

That answer changed the way I approached the project.

I had imagined a basket of groceries on a porch.

Rebecca was asking for a system she could depend on.

She wasn’t asking us to rescue her.

She was asking us to make it possible for her work to pay off.