Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, Feb. 19 - 25, 2015
EDUCATION
PAGE 18A
Student service projects to be awarded
by Ashley Oglesby
ashley@dekalbchamp .com
Dozens of DeKalb and Fulton
County students will be honored
at Communities in Schools of
Atlanta’s 11th annual Choose Suc
cess awards dinner on April 30 for
service projects they’ve established
for their communities.
“Our children are not victims.
In fact in this globally connected
world they have to be stalwart lead
ers because, even as poor as they
are in terms of America, they are
still some of the wealthiest people
in the world,” said Frank Brown,
executive director of Communities
in Schools of Atlanta (CIS).
Brown said, “These kids are
going to do great acts in the com
munity, and we will honor them
to highlight that our kids are not
just achieving academically or at
tending school on time, but they’re
actually cognizant that they have a
role and responsibility to give back
to their community and make it
better.”
The Choose Success program
enables CIS of Atlanta students in
partner schools in Atlanta, DeKalb
County and Fulton counties to
identify needs in their communi
ties, apply for small grants, imple
ment their projects and document
their results with the support of CIS
of Atlanta staff.
The Choose Success experience
allows students who face various
social and economic challenges to
serve to others in need.
Service projects include health
clinics, donation drives, delivering
food and more.
The group collected items to
create “love baskets” filled with
socks and food items. They also
collected books for homeless chil
dren.
“We’re uplifting women, being
a positive influence and showing
women in domestic violence situ
ations and children that there’s a
way out and it’s going to be OK,”
said India Grant, a junior at Cedar
Grove High School.
She added, “It makes me feel
good to know that we’re doing
something to help people and up
lifting their spirits.”
The baskets will be delivered
to My Sister’s House Atlanta and
Beloved Atlanta along with hand
made quilts and handwritten cards
inscribed with “home is where the
heart is.”
Cedar Grove CIS’s Coordinator
Angela Williams said she is proud
of the work that is being produced.
“When the different groups
decided that they wanted to do
something focused on women and
children, it made me happy. We put
a lot of emphasis on trying to reha
bilitate or show support to men, but
we very seldom show support for
women,” Williams said.
“To see this generation starting
to impact and feeling compelled to
do service work makes me happy,”
she said. It’s not always often that
you see that.”
Students at Cross Keys and
Clarkston high schools will host
health clinics Feb. 19 and 21.
CIS is an organization that aims
to remove barriers that hinder stu
dents from succeeding.
The organization places staff
members-called site coordina-
tors-in schools to assist in building
strong relationships with students,
educators and community mem
bers.
Coordinators are trained to iden
tify problems that prevent students
from succeeding and devise bench
marks to help the students over
come those issues.
Cedar Grove Principal Pamela
Benson said she is thankful for CIS
involvement in the school.
“[Williams] encourages them to
get involved in the life of school;
she follows up with the parents and
overall there’s one more layer of
concern that would not be there.”
The schools improve attendance,
improve behavior, support aca
demic performance, and parental
involvement, and community part
nerships, and support families that
are in crisis.
“We work with the school, the
parents and students to come up
with an individual work plan that
is realistic and stretche the child to
get them to understand how impor
tant it is to achieve academically,”
Brown said.
News anchor for WSB-TV Fred
Blankenship will emcee the event.
“We’re not applauding him or
her for a great concept and no ac
tion,” Brown said. “It has to be a
meaningful, thoughtful engagement
to make sure the service learn
ing opportunity is widespread and
meaningful.”
He added, “Everyone that has
achieved something in life under
stands that it came at the expense
of someone that came before
them.”
The program will be held on
April 30 at The Commerce Club, at
190 Peachtree Street.
The ceremony also will honor
founding donor to Graduation
Generation and BlackRock Chief
Investment Officer of fundamental
fixed income Rick Rieder with an
Ann Cox Chambers Champion for
Kids Award.
Brown said Rieder “has really
made a commitment to educational
excellence.”
Reider has given CIS $250,000
over the last four years.
Brown said, “Our mission is to
surround children with a commu
nity of support that empowers them
to stay in school and achieve in
life. You can’t really achieve at life
without giving back.”
Teacher Daarina Abdul-Matem and CIS coordinator Angela Williams with Cedar Grove stu
dents Maia VonDyke, India Grant, Khemaani Johnson and Jayla Fears-Johnson take part in
creating love baskets for homeless shelter.
A collection of socks that the girls have prepared to deliver to My Sister’s House Atlanta and
Beloved Atlanta.
The girls collected books for children of homeless families and prepared to deliver them to
My Sister’s House Atlanta and Beloved Atlanta.