Midlands woman to give two graduating seniors shopping sprees

COLUMBIA,SC (WOLO)- After surviving her own troubled childhood, a Midlands woman is making it her life work to inspire kids across the Midlands. This Christmas she’s looking to send a pair of teens off to college in style.

Raquel Thomas says she grew up rough. The oldest of five had thoughts of  suicide when she was forced into foster care.

“It was tough,” Thomas said. “I took every opportunity I could to survive and it became survival at the end of the day.”

Thomas’s mother was in and out of jail, leaving her elderly grandmother to raise five children. With chaos erupting around her, she turned to writing to escape.

“When I picked up that pencil and had that paper I was invisible in my mind,” Thomas said. “That was a huge part of me surviving the chaos that was surrounding me.”

The now mother of two spends her time giving back to the community. She founded Dream Catchers, a non-profit that aims to teach kids throughout Palmetto state about entrepreneurship and how to help build character.

“It’s all about grabbing those kids and saying its possible,”Thomas said. “I promise because I’m sitting here talking to you and I mean it.”

This Christmas she’s giving two future scholars a $500 shopping spree.

To qualify you need a 2.8 GPA, write a 250 word essay about leadership, and be accepted into a college or university.

“We’re going to help them build that confidence level as they walk into their freshman year of college with grace and be ready to capture something that they haven’t been able to,” Thomas said.

If you know a high school senior that may be eligible for the holiday shopping spree you have until Friday, December 21st to apply.