This tiny win starts with our Site Coordinator at Montrose Elementary School, Mary Valenza taking her students on her annual shopping trip at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Each year students at St. Catherine’s School, St. Christopher’s School, and Collegiate School come together for a service project called 1004100. This project allows over 300 students to head to a holiday shopping spree.
This is Ms. Valenza’s first year at Montrose Elementary School– but has been a part of this program for many years at her previous school, Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School. A few days after this trip Ms. Valenza was out and about around Richmond when she noticed the young woman at the restaurant helping her. She looked very familiar, so Ms. Valenza asked– Janiyah?
Sure enough, it was Janiyah. A student of hers from her time at OGB, who she still has a picture of on her board. She is now a junior in RPS, working hard in school and out of school, and still has the most beautiful smile.
“As a site coordinator, especially in elementary, you don’t always get to know what happens to “your kids”. It was so nice to see her face and let her know how much she meant to me all those years ago.”
Thank you to all of our site coordinators who make these connections happen each day.
