Pathway to Possibilities: Christine Carter Brings Hope, Purpose to Her Community

Conjure up an image of feminine resolve and determination. Then mix in passion, drive and compassion. Fuse the picture together with sass and humility and you are staring at a portrait of a woman who has her pulse on her purpose. You are looking at a woman who has drawn on harsh beginnings to create possibilities for others.

You are looking at Newark native Christine Carter.

Sitting down to speak with Carter she immediately draws you into the passion she has for Against All Odds, the Newark based not-for-profit she has created.

With a team of eight full-time employees, Carter runs the agency whose mission is "to provide essential educational and social service programs to at-risk children and underserved families by empowering, equipping and engaging those in need."

Primarily funded through the No Child Left Behind Act, the agency offers tutoring, assistance in navigating social services and child welfare, and community outreach through the Seth Boyden Family Success Center.

She said her goal is to assist those who are abused and neglected and provide them emotional, educational and financial tools to improve their quality of life. Carter said she serves 700 families through her agency and serves thousands of children through tutoring programs aided by hundreds of adult volunteer ambassadors.

It was her own early difficulties that inspired Carter to help children. Having parents who were victims to drugs, crime and AIDS, she said she was thrust into foster care at a young age. Faced with abuse, loneliness and neglect, she said she felt like a little girl left to fend for herself in the world. 

Her early story is not unique. Rather than repeating the cycle of hardship she was brought into, Carter drew her strength on hope. She revealed, "children don't know their detriment at the time. All they know is hope." Hope became her shield and taking one day at time, she forged ahead.

After graduating from Norfolk State University in Virginia with a degree in social work, she returned to Newark to work with the Division of Youth and Family Services.

At 24, Carter left her career because she said she, "felt I wasn't effective enough." She decided to "take a leap of faith and start the agency." She recalls with no financial security it was a hard road. When she finally got a contract with the Board of Education she was ecstatic, her vision started to take life.

That was back in 2006. Now, she is looking toward the future to expand her programs. With so many children seeking to enter charter schools she hopes to open one for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, in 2012 or 2013.

"If I can get students to make gains in 40 hours (with tutoring), imagine what I could do if I could service them full time," she said.

Her school would serve children through a holistic approach, to "bridge the gap between education and the social services needed ... You can't educate a child who is hungry or fearful of going home." She said her goal is to meet the wide range of needs of the children and give them the tools for success. 

Carter is trying to bring light and hope to an underserved population and considers it her avocation. "It's my purpose. It's my passion. It's my life," she said.

[Editor's note: This story first published May 27 at 3:41 p.m.]