American Public Radio / May 3, 2013
Darrick Wilson has decided he wants to go to prom. Only problem? It starts in about six hours, and he has nothing to wear.
As soon as school’s out, staffer Jami Luggen drives Darrick and his date to Sears. On the way, they order their $20 tickets on the phone.
“I will pay for them either tonight or when I get back,” Luggen tells Darrick.
When they get to the store, they make a bee-line for the men’s section. Darrick spots a purple dress shirt. Luggen finds a pair of brown slacks on sale.
“Ah, perfect,” Luggen says as they head to the dressing room.
Luggen is the resource coordinator at Oyler School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Most of the kids come from low-income families. She’s in charge of wrangling pretty much anything they need — food, health care, size 17 dress shirt.
“Anything it takes to get the job done,” she says. “You want to do the same thing for them that you do for your own kids.”