Girls Inc. will be joining with the Spelman College Bonner Scholars to enrich programming, inspire girls to go to college and learn about the importance of service to others. Bonner Scholars will participate with Girls Inc. by volunteering to assist our programming in Chattanooga on Monday and Tuesday. While there, Bonner Scholars will assist with Girls Inc. programming at several area schools and deliver presentations on getting into college at Brainerd High School and the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy. In January, Girls Inc.
teens went to Spelman College in Atlanta to participate in volunteer opportunities there, including jointly participating in a Day of Service as a part of the Martin Luther King holiday celebration.
Girls Inc.’s partnership with Spelman College began in March 2012 when the Bonner Scholars spent their Spring Break volunteering with Girls Inc. girls and at the schools that are served. The Bonner Scholars Program provides service learning scholarships for students who have high financial need and a commitment to service. Each year, Bonner Scholars are expected to perform 280 hours of service. With such high expectations, the Bonner Scholars serve as positive, college-age role models for the teen girls. The Scholars gave presentations on the importance of attending college and returned again to visit the girls and volunteer with them in 2013.
This week, the Spelman Bonner Scholars return to Chattanooga to continue the annual exchange and work with Girls Inc. and the girls. On Monday, they will be at the East Lake Academy of Fine Arts, Harrison Elementary School, East Ridge Elementary, Woodmore Elementary and Clifton Hills Elementary working with the schools on service projects chosen by the schools and Girls Inc. staff. They will also work with Girls Inc. staff and participate in the teen programming during their visit to Chattanooga.
On Tuesday, they will be at the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy and Brainerd High School where they will present to girls about college life, lessons learned, tips for scholarships, the importance of four-year degree and strategies for building a resume. They will also return to the elementary schools for additional time with our elementary girls programming.
The program promotes community service, both for the Spelman women and for the teens. It also gives the teens motivation and inspiration to pursue college and show them that a commitment to the service of others often has its own reward. For more information about the Bonner Scholar Program go to:
http://www.spelman.edu/student-life/leads-at-spelman/bonner-office-of-community-service-and-student-development/bonner-scholars