The idea of a non-profit program whose sole purpose is providing free tutoring services to disadvantaged students may seem like just a dream, but Breakthrough Collaborative is making it a reality.

“It’s a really great program that gives students a head start on everything. Not even just for the next school year, but for their entire future because it implements good study skills and good work ethic that will follow them throughout their academic careers and into their future,” said Corinne Hunnicutt, a summer volunteer for the Breakthrough Collaborative, also known as the San Juan Capistrano Breakthrough program.

The Breakthrough program offering free tutoring help and study sessions is a prospect that many students are able to take full advantage of in order to help themselves during middle school,high school and even college.

“I knew it was going to help me throughout my school years, and it definitely has,” said Daniel Fernandez, a student in the Breakthrough program.

But the San Juan Capistrano Breakthrough program is not just about learning for students, it’s also about teaching.

“[In Breakthrough] I could get help in a class I am struggling in, but there are also volunteer opportunities where they take you somewhere to help others, so it’s not just about getting help for yourself, it’s also about giving back,” said Carissa Mercado a student in the Breakthrough program.

San Juan Capistrano Breakthrough has already seen success in giving students who come from low-income families and first-generation college students, the skills necessary to graduate. In the United States, only eleven percent of low-income, first generation students graduate college, but out of all the students in the San Juan Capistrano Breakthrough, 96 percent of them are on track to graduate.

By giving disadvantaged students the opportunity to prepare themselves for their future academic endeavors, San Juan Capistrano Breakthrough is enabling students to thrive in education despite all the odds seeming to be against them.