Brandermill Educational Ambassadors make a difference in schools

Posted October 8, 2012 at 4:26 PM, Filed Under: Front Page, Schools, Village Mill

By Dianne Cardea
CCC Chair

It is back to school time for students and teachers, and also for Brandermill volunteers who want to help in the schools. Many opportunities await you—in tutoring and mentoring students, or assisting with special events.

Community volunteers established a relationship with the public schools last year called “Partnership in Schools.” A little bland, right? Therefore, our volunteers will now be known as “Brandermill Educational Ambasadors” (BEA).

Also last year, a breakdown in communication occurred in the schools, and some volunteers were not invited in to help students. Enter Gretchen Sutphin, new community outreach coordinator for the Chesterfield County Public School system, who has a lot of energy and excitement for our BEA program.

“Community members have always been one of the greatest sources of support for Chesterfield County Public Schools, and I am thrilled to be working with Dianne Cardea and School Board Member Dianne Smith to renew our relationship with the Brandermill community,” says Sutphin. “We’re going to make it easy for everyone to volunteer—whether you can help every day, once a week, once a month, or once a year. We will help you find your comfort zone and get involved—whether it’s reading to elementary students, monitoring the gates at the next football game, or organizing information packets for a fundraiser. We welcome every willing hand and heart.”

To join BEA in making a difference, please email dcardea@verizon.net and you will be notified of future opportunities to help meet the needs in the schools. We look forward to working with you.

BEA Opportunity
Swift Creek Middle School will host a career fair on Wednesday, November 14. Because Brandermill lays claim to many adults with varied and interesting careers, Rebertha Pope-Matthews, school counseling coordinator, would love to have Brandermill residents introduce students to career opportunities that they may have never considered.
If you can spare some time for this program, please call Pope-Matthews at
739-6315x6023. Be sure to let her know you are a member of BEA.