Brett Jordan and Jayne Iglesias of Mentor Me-North Georgia were among 18 volunteers honored recently at the 2012 Celebration of Hands.
Jordan, a 2012 graduate of , received the 'Youth Volunteer of the Year' award. He began volunteering in 2009 as an after-school mentor and tutor with Mentor Me, an organization that matches adult and high school mentors with local children who need role models in their lives.
Jordan's mentee, Daniel, have been together since Daniel was in kindergarten. Having Jordan as a role model and friend in Daniel's life has helped the young boy raise his academic skills. Daniel recently completed third grade.
Jordan has been instrumental in recruiting many of his high school friends to volunteer as mentors. He became Mentor Me’s advocate with the National Honor Society at Lambert, securing 50 additional high school volunteers for the organization’s REACH program. This program helps elementary school children with their homework and life skills.
Jordan also coordinated a book drive to help Mentor Me establish a lending library collecting more than 400 books for the organization’s children.
Jordan will be attending Georgia Tech during the fall semester.
Iglesias, a member of the Mentor Me board of directors, received a 'People in Action' award, a new category this year.
She also volunteers with the PTA. Even before the school opened, she helped get the PTA started, and worked tirelessly developing innovative ways to get parents and teachers involved in children’s education. She also led the way for the first ever science lab at the school.
Under her leadership as president, the Brookwood PTA was recognized with numerous awards from the Georgia PTA organization, including Best Local Unit.
“Congratulations to Brett, Jayne, and all the award recipients for their volunteer work,” said Mentor Me President Virgilio Perez-Pascoe. “Volunteers make our community a better place to live, and we couldn’t help so many of our neighbors without their personal involvement.”
The event, sponsored by Forsyth County Community Connection, a nonprofit organization that refers volunteers to charity groups, was held at Windermere Gold Club and was attended by more than 150 people.
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