“Just being here today and seeing these children … it will be different tomorrow packing bags and giving out food because we have seen our work in action!,” says Manna House volunteer Jane Agazzi who was one of three people honored at today’s Super Citizen graduation event at Ridgecrest Elementary. Her organization actually delivers 430 luches per week to Ridgecrest and 37,000 yearly to local schools.
Seventy five 5th graders packed the lunchroom to receive certificates for the 10-week civic, character, financial literacy and social studies program they completed courtesy of Huntsville’s own Liberty Learning Foundation and local sponsor Vencore (formerly QinetiQ) who funded the kickoff and graduation events.
In the final piece of this year’s Super Citizen Program, students teamed-up to nominate, vote for and ultimately honor local heroes who personifies the character traits they learned about. This year, students chose volunteer teacher and travel nurse Catherine Chambers, cafeteria worker Ruth Brown and Agazzi and fellow Manna House co-worker Bebe Williams. They read essays about why they honored those heroes and brought them on stage to rousing applause. On stage they were presented with Authentic Liberty Replicas (also made right here in Huntsville by Liberty Learning).
Williams says, “This is a tremendous program, to put on the hearts at an age like this- citizenship and what it really means. How important it is to be part of the solution of problems. I was very impressed with it!”
And Ruth Brown, who has worked in the Ridgecrest Cafeteria for 18 years expressed her excitement for the program and being honored today, “I never dreamed I would be this. I hope the sponsors could continue this for this school and other schools across the state. It boosts everyone’s attitude.”
Chambers echoed the sentiment that keeps Liberty Learning Foundation volunteers energized every day: “I think it was just wonderful. This is a title 1 school and many times kids get lost in the shuffle. And when they get the opportunity to do something like this… it was something they felt deeply about. They are wonderful children. I believe we need to continue doing this to schools in the Huntsville area.”
Parents, teachers and local VIPs watched as the students applied the lessons they learned in the classroom to the real world. Because as the Torch Teams motto states: “When you honor a hero, you become a hero.“
For more information about how you can help Liberty Learning Foundation continue its mission visit LibertyLearning.org or call (800) 239-0005