Here’s another round of applause for individuals and organizations doing great things in the community.

 

The Pinevale High School Alumni Association presented $250 to Pinevale Elementary School for science, technology, engineering and math Monday morning. Dr. Willie Houseal, chair of the alumni association, said the presentation was the third year the group donated to STEM at Pinevale. Houseal, who was part of the last graduating class at Pinevale High School in 1969, said the Alumni Association wants to help the children be on the cutting-edge. “Science, technology, engineering and math is increasing in demand,” Houseal said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2010-20, employment in science and engineering occupations were projected to grow by 18.7 percent, which is above the projected 14.3 percent for all occupations.

 

Pinevale Elementary School’s Dancing Divas wanted to do their part in helping students affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas. They hosted a canned-food and school -supply drive to give their fellow students and community members an opportunity to donate what they could, according to a school press release. All of their collections were recently shipped to Ermel Elementary in Houston, Texas.

 

Building Bridges Saddle Club wants to make Christmas Eve a more special day for children. Beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 24, members of the nonprofit organization will ride on horses through underprivileged neighborhoods to deliver gifts to children for the organization’s second annual gift giving. A carriage will be filled with presents, carolers will serenade and Mrs. Claus will tag along with Santa Claus in front of the horse and wagon. Myron Thomas, Building Bridges founder, said he believes the nonprofit will be a blessing to many people and said he started the yearly event because it touched his heart that some children went without Christmas presents.

 

A Valdosta Middle School student is one of 50 students in the U.S. chosen for the Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars program. Elijah Herring, now an eighth-grader, will benefit from the program, which is a five-year pre-college scholarship for seventh graders who earn mostly or all As in school and who are from a family with an adjusted gross income of less than $95,000. The program provides academic and college advising and financial support for schools. According to the Cooke Foundation program profile, nearly 2,000 students nationwide apply for the program each year. Herring learned he was a recipient in November and said without the program and the financial support, he would likely have had to get student loans to go to college, which would have limited his choices. “I didn’t want to have to go to college based on a budget,” he said. “I want to go wherever I can get accepted.”