Tuesday, December 27, 2011
You did it!
Thanks to the generosity of YOU, our community donors, we have reached our goal of raising $1400 for Mia's trip to DC! She is so excited and thankful for all of your donations and thoughts, and we couldn't have done this without you!
Mia's trip to DC Spotlighted on Athens 11Alive News!
A 12-year-old honors student from Athens has earned an opportunity few people receive, despite living like few people would want.
"This child was in a reading circle when she was three years old," recalls Katheryn Wilhite about her daughter, Mia, "and it has been getting better and better every year."
But for Mia, this year has been different. She is living with her mom, sister, and five other families at the Athens Area Homeless Shelter.
Katheryn Wilhite lost her job in January, and by June the family had to give up its home. Despite that, Mia continued to plug away in school this year, and one of her administrators at Clarke Middle School took notice. Mia was nominated to attend the People to People Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.
Says Mia about the conference, "Because of the world we're growing up in and how bad the economy is right now, I think we have to think about this kind of stuff."
The problem is, since the conference is in Washington, it requires a thousand dollars in travel and tuition costs the Wilhites don't have. So they're asking for help -- asking for charity at a charitable time of year -- for a girl who continues to stay focused on school despite all the stress around her .
"As strange as it sounds," said Mia, "I'm kind of glad we went through all of this because it's helped our family a lot more than it's affected us in a bad way."
Monday, December 26, 2011
Mia's trip to DC Spotlighted in the Athens Banner-Herald on December 25, 2011
Vote down!
Mia Wilhite — an honor roll student at Clarke Middle School — lives at the Athens Area Homeless Shelter with her older sister and mother.
Twelve-year-old Mia recently was invited to visit Washington, D.C., for a four-day leadership conference in March, because of her hard work, good attitude and excellent grades.
School administrators nominated Mia for a conference last year, too, but the family couldn’t afford to send her.
This year, Mia’s family and the Athens Area Homeless Shelter are reaching out to the community for help in paying the $1,000 in tuition and travel expenses.
Keeping good grades while staying at the shelter is hard, but her location helps remind her of why an education is so important, Mia said.
“It motivates me to work even harder at my schoolwork,” she said. “I don’t even want to consider (living at a homeless shelter) in my future.”
Mia’s mom, Katheryn Wilhite, and her 25-year-old sister, Tiffaney Witcher, have lived in the shelter since the summer, Katheryn Wilhite said.
The family went through a string of catastrophes — including Katheryn’s mother dying and the family car breaking down — which in the end left them homeless, she said.
Asking for help did not come easy.
“We had to get down to eating potted meat sandwiches every night before I would go get food stamps,” Katheryn Wilhite said.
While Mia takes on her seventh-grade curriculum, her mom also is training to receive certification in caring for small children. Katheryn Wilhite would like to work at a day care and save up money for Mia’s college education, she said.
“This child is headed for college, and I’ve got to put some money away for her education,” Katheryn Wilhite said.
Mia wants to become a pediatrician and has thought about learning in Washington, D.C., before, she said.
“I was even looking at going to college (in D.C.) in the future,” she said.
To donate money to help pay for Mia’s trip, visit www.helpathenshomeless.org and click on the people to people button.*
*this is a change from the Athens Banner-Herald articleWednesday, December 14, 2011
December Updates from Athens Area Homeless Shelter
We've had so much going on this month and we're excited to share it with you!
Thanks so much to the Collegiate Deca group, Athens Technical College's honor society, for installing new doorknobs and curtain rods throughout the shelter! Collegiate Deca also raised money to provide each resident of AAHS with a flash drive.
It's Christmas shopping week! Thanks to your donations of gift cards, our residents will be able to go to Target, Wal-mart, and other area stores to shop for their children's Christmas gifts! It's a huge blessing that residents have the chance to do their own Christmas shopping, and we thank your for supporting this holiday gift!
In the last week alone we've raised almost $700 for Mia's People to People leadership forum. We're half way there! As we get closer to March 22 and Mia's trip we're grateful for your consideration of helping us make this opportunity a reality for Mia.
“I'm excited about traveling to Washington DC and experiencing some of our nation's famous monuments, learning more about our culture and our congress, and meeting so many of our nation's famous senators. I feel honored to know that so many people from my community feel that I deserve the chance to experience this rare opportunity and I am grateful to them for giving me the chance.” says Mia.
If you're interested in donating to Mia's fund, you can do so here through our paypal site, or you can go to payment.peopletopeople.com and provide Mia's delegate information: name Mia Wilhite and delegate ID# 10148001.
A huge thanks goes out to the groups who've brought Christmas trees, decorations, and holiday activities for our residents to participate in. The shelter looks like a winter wonderland and the kids are definitely in the holiday spirit!
As always, if you're interested in volunteering at the shelter or have ideas for a project or activity you'd like to do with our residents, please email volunteer@helpathenshomeless.org or call 706-354-0423. Have a great holiday season and again, thanks for all that you do!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Support Mia's Trip to Washington DC!
This holiday season, please consider supporting Mia's trip to DC. Mia is a 12 year old (almost 13!) resident of Athens Area Homeless Shelter who has been nominated by her teachers at Clarke Middle School to participate in a leadership forum in Washington DC this March. What an achievement! AAHS is asking for support for Mia's trip. In order to make this trip a reality, we need to raise the $1,000 tuition, plus travel expenses. Mia and her mother will be raising funds around town this season, but we will need all the support we can get! It you're interested, please donate directly to her fund using the information below, or you can donate through our website specifically to Mia's fund here.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Thanks so much to all the groups who've come to help with holiday fun over the last week, and for those who will be bringing more activities and cheer in the coming weeks!
Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has participated in our winter coat and blanket drive. Thanks to your support and generosity, we've collected over 300 coats and blankets to distribute to the homeless in Athens this winter. What a blessing!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
When 20 people live in a building together, you end up with a lot of trash!
AAHS is excited that a group of education students from UGA have been working with our residents' children on a recycling education program this year.
While the majority of education programs are geared toward classroom use, we have kids ranging from 2-13 at the shelter right now. These creative students were able to use activities to encourage recycling in all age groups.
We will be working in the next months to extend this recycling project to our office staff, residents, and volunteers. We hope you enjoy some of the recycling project art work made by the children at the shelter!
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