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PB STUDENTS FEATURED IN USA TODAY

By Nicole Brown/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, April 14, 2007 10:33 PM CDT

The Students with Opportunities to Soar Program will be honored in today’s issue of USA Weekend Magazine that appears in The Commercial.

SOS is listed among honorees being saluted for volunteer projects performed on the 16th Make A Difference Day held Oct. 28.

Make A Difference Day is the nation’s largest day of community service and the project is sponsored by USA Weekend in partnership with the non-partisan Points of Light Foundation.

“This is an honor for the kids,” Denise Grace, program director, said. “They do all the work. I am just here to help them.”

The SOS program has been around since 2000 and is managed by Jefferson County Retired and Senior Volunteers Program.

SOS is a teen service/learning program that matches mentors in local non-profit businesses with students who want opportunities to learn marketable skills.

The program offers scholarships each year to its participants but they must maintain at least a C grade point average and perform at least 100 community services hours during the school year. They must also participate in at least two Make A Difference Day events.

The SOS youth program worked with the Delta Rivers Nature Center on its annual Halloween carnival held Oct. 27-28. The carnival was set up for all young children, with or without disabilities.

SOS volunteers also helped paint the first block of downtown Pine Bluff and brought it back to life.

“The kids just do so much. We had 18 students show up ready to paint the town. They are awesome. I am so blessed to have met and worked with these young people,” Grace said.

“They teach me every day how beautiful this world can be when you work together,” she said.

This community service event gave the students a sense of what is going on with the community and the people, according to Grace.

“This program is a way to help keep the kids off the streets. These students come from all five major high schools. Black, white, Hispanic, these students come from all different cultures,” she said.

“They work together to make it work. Whatever these students touch, it works.”

All 10th, 11th and 12th-grade students who reside in Jefferson County may apply for membership in the program. The application must include signatures from a teacher who recommends them and a parent or guardian.

For more information contact Denise Grace at 534-2156.

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