At our recent Appreciation Breakfast, we honored a special group of volunteers - high school students!

Our programming director, Beppie Lever noted, "These teenagers who have so much pressure to excel in their schoolwork and lots of opportunities to hang out and have fun with their friends, find the time to give back to other students in our community." This year, we had over 90 high school students from 5 different schools volunteer with us. For our graduating seniors who consistently volunteered with us in high school, we introduced an SSEF recognition pin that they may wear on their graduation robes. Recipients are: Kate Lott (North Springs) - University of Chicago Grace Lumpkins (North Springs) - Harvard University Chase (Clover) Leccima (Riverwood) - Waynesburg University Samuel Vander Velde (Innovation Academy) - Emory University Judah Garrett (Innovation Academy) - Florida State University Kaitlyn Arango (Innvation Academy) - Still deciding on college Grace spoke at our recent Appreciation Breakfast and reflected on her experience as a Sandy Springs Education Force Volunteer. She said working with younger students broadened her perspective. “Meeting with the kids reminds me that there are so many joyful and intelligent youth in the world, ready to take charge once they grow up,” Lumpkins said. “For me, that hope is invaluable and perfectly encapsulates the significance of SSEF in our community. It offers a safe space for students to learn about and grow into their promising futures so they can give back even more to the next generation.” We'd also like to thank Nina Klug, who graduated from Riverwood and was a tutor in high school. She has continued tutoring in our virtual Tutor Teams program from college. She is graduating from UGA and starting her Master of Social Work degree there. She said, “I am so grateful for the opportunity to tutor for SSEF.”