The Sandy Springs Education Force’s May 1 Appreciation Breakfast at Riverwood International Charter School recognized the volunteers and program partners who support the city’s public school students year-round.
The student-focused nonprofit works with more than 8,000 kids each year in the city’s 10 public schools, offering STEAM programs, literacy coaching, college and career mentoring, and after-school support.
About 100 community members attended the Appreciation Breakfast in the Riverwood High School Media Room on Raider Drive just north of I-285 in Sandy Springs.
Riverwood Principal Kindra Smith said the Sandy Springs Education Force “steps up to the plate each year.”
“What you all do for our schools in Sandy Springs is second to none,” Smith said, representing several principals in the room. “By you saying yes, our kids win … and we get a yes after a yes, after a yes.”
Community boosts education
SSEF Executive Director Irene Schweiger said the nonprofit was light on volunteers three years ago, coming out of the pandemic, but has fully recovered and expanded. While educational programming is strong, the nonprofit is always looking for more help.
“Sandy Springs Education Force currently runs about 18 programs in our public schools,” Schweiger said. “We have elementary, we have middle, and we have high school… We really work in synergy with the schools… I meet with the principals every June, because what we want to do is make sure that what we’re doing is what they need.”
Each year, the Sandy Springs Education Force recognizes the Carolyn Axt Volunteer of the Year, the Dr. Ava Wilensky Board Member of the Year, the Sustaining Program Partner Award, and the School Program Champion of the Year.
SSEF Board Chair Kathryn Shapiro received the Dr. Ava Wilensky Award, recognizing her 12 years of service and contributions to the nonprofit as an attorney. Shapiro, who chaired the board before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, said she found a strong sense of purpose and a fit at the education force.
“The work that this organization does is so dear to my heart,” Shapiro said. “The people whom I have worked with all these years at SSEF inside our organization, and all of you, are the kindest, the best, the most giving. You share my belief that our children are our future in every sense of that phrase.”
Nonprofit awards partners, volunteers
Renee Hoelting, a longtime SSEF volunteer “reading buddy” at Lake Forest Elementary, received the Carolyn Axt Volunteer of the Year Award. Hoelting said it’s been an opportunity for her to enjoy her retirement while helping children learn to read.
One of the Sandy Springs-based nonprofit’s longest-running partnerships is with the After-Schools All-Stars program, primarily based out of Atlanta Public Schools.
The After-School All-Stars Atlanta won the Sustaining Program Partner Award for its 17 years of “enrichment clubs” at Sandy Springs Middle School. The teacher-led, after-school programs are free for students and allow them to pursue their specific interests in technology, the arts, or athletics.
While Sandy Springs is within Fulton County Schools, ASAS Site Coordinator Toni Rodgers said the nonprofits have a shared mission. The after-school program at Sandy Springs Charter Middle School runs 30 weeks a year, including two hours of tutoring and activities.
“We have about 150 students enrolled [with] 14 teachers and about 12 different enrichment clubs,” Rodgers said. “The teachers are able to pour their passions back into the students in a way that’s different from the classroom.”
Hearing from students
Two Sandy Springs Middle students, sixth-grader Fortune Ayoka and eighth-grader Ifu Okpala, spoke about their time in the ASAS program. While Fortune said he wants to join the eSports and Young Gentlemen’s clubs next year, Ifu is already building her high school resume.
North Springs senior Grace Lumpkins, who is a volunteer tutor at Sandy Springs Middle and will attend Harvard University next fall, said working with younger students has 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.”
