300 words for $300,000
By Kris Brackmannkbrackmann@bellevuereporter.com
Even after heartbreak and an empty wallet, Island resident Cacky Calderon is eager to give back to the community.
As a recent graduate who earned her JD/MBA from Northwestern University last year, Calderon was hit hard with $300,000 worth of student debt. Before she has this debt paid off, she’s already planning on founding the Palate Love Care program. This is a program that will deliver nourishing meals to cancer patients in memory of her late mother, Wanda Calderon.
Wanda might be a familiar name to some as she held the registrar position at Mercer Island High School for 11 years. In 2007, she passed away from stomach cancer. Since then, her family has been doing everything they can to keep her memory alive.
In 2008, the Calderons established a fund through Mercer Island Youth and Family Services Foundation to help students in need at MIHS. Through small donations, Wanda’s Wallet, as it’s called, has already assisted more than 250 students to achieve their academic goals.
With this next project, Calderon hopes to ease the stress faced by families like hers to provide proper nutrition for their loved ones while undergoing chemotherapy. Rather than focus on being a caretaker, families can spend more time enjoying their relationships and healing.
Her story can be read in the essay she entered for the SoFi #2BillionTogether Student Loan Payoff Contest. Her essay is about her mother’s illness and the vision she has after coming out of that devastating experience.
Calderon’s essay is competing against 19 other finalists, all vying for the chance to have their student debt paid off. She’s currently in second place and needs all the votes she can get to win this life-changing opportunity and begin changing the lives of others.
The voting window for this contest opened today and closes June 23.
To vote for Cacky’s article and give her the chance to pay off her debt, visit https://www.soficontest.com/entry.aspx?id=0.
Winners will be announced July 1.
