Staff report

Thanks to a partnership with BB&T, UpSpring is able to continue to empower the children in their after school program at Newport Intermediate School (NIS).

The children, all of whom are experiencing homelessness, have engaged in lessons about global diversity all year, and have pen pals in Jordan who are Syrian refugees.

At the end of this school year, they will be moving from their current school as their building is repurposed, and moving into Newport Middle School.

As a culminating activity, the students in UpSpring After School will create a mural outside their new school that speaks to the lessons they learned under the leadership of Ashlee Bedinghaus, teacher at NIS; Kristy McNally, Resource Coordinator at NIS; and Lily Raphael, UpSpring Program Manager. Alongside the UpSpring/Newport Team will be staff from BB&T.

BB&T, through their Lighthouse Project, was able to fund this mural initiative and the principle parties at the bank will be right alongside the students as they make their new school building look even more welcoming. The Diversity Wildcats (the name the students gave their club) are truly excited about this endeavor, and UpSpring is thrilled with the support of BB&T.

"It is through partnerships with community-minded businesses & organizations like BB&T that we are able to make change in the community," said Mike Morosku, UpSpring Executive Director.

The dates that the UpSpring After School Team will be working are April 30, May 14, and May, 21. They will be working from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on all three days.