The Ability to Achieve

May 8th, 2010 will mark my fifth anniversary as being a client of ACHIEVEability. I am one of the few male clients in this wonderful program. As a man and as a single parent, it was hard for me ask for help at first because I had this notion that my “independence” defined my manhood. While I believe it to be true that a man takes care of his family and himself, a man also must be able to recognize when he needs some assistance. ACHIEVEability has provided me with that assistance. From the great self sufficiency coaches and awesome tutors to the workshops and programs offered to the group outings and the reward system, ACHIEVEability has provided my children and me with an outstanding foundation to become successful and productive members of society. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been any challenges or obstacles because there have been many. The difference is having a great support system to help you through these trying times and that’s what this program has done. An example of this program’s great support occurred during my first year enrolled in the program. My son’s brother was viciously murdered and he was engulfed with grief and anger. ACHIEVEability had grief counselors come in and assist with getting my son back on track. With the assistance of this program and through my son’s personal, internal strength, he has graduated from high school and is now enrolled in an 18 month Associates degree program for computer technology. This situation could have easily deteriorated into continued violence but because of the help offered by this program, we prevented it. Another example is my educational progress. When I enrolled in CCP I was required to take remedial math because I needed to strengthen my skills in that area. Because of the great tutoring and support offered by ACHIEVEability, I went from remedial math to Economic 112(Statistics 1). In fact, I will be graduating from CCP on May 8th, 2010 with an AA degree in Liberal Arts (with a strong business foundation) and I will be continuing my pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Chestnut Hill College.


The beautiful irony of ACHIEVEability’s mantra of self-sufficiency is that one must have a great support staff in order to be self-sufficient. The greatest lessons I’ve learned from this program are to never be afraid or ashamed to accept help and to be smart enough to know what I don’t know.


I would like to give a special, heart-felt thank you to:

Brian Hoskins- A great Life Skills coach but a MUCH better person. I consider you one of my best friends.

Jamilla HARRIS-Morrison- A top flight motivator and one of the most intelligent persons I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.

Heather Greaves- Tutor of the Gods.

About the Author

Gerald H. Parnell, Jr. is a single father of three children.  He came to ACHIEVEability in 2005 and will graduate from Community College of Philadelphia this May with an AA in Liberal Arts.  He plans to pursue a bachelors degree in finance at Chestnut Hill College this fall.  Gerald currently works for Ricoh Copiers, and has his own disk jockey business.