Roos DeVries, a junior at Oakwood High School, and Rachel McMillan, a junior at Sobrato High School, joined forces with Lori Mains of the American Institute of Mathematics on an exciting community outreach project for the children of The Bridge Program, an after-school homework club sponsored by Discovery Counseling Center at Jasmine Square Community in Morgan Hill.
Over the course of several months, DeVries and McMillan, along with a number of volunteers, collected Legos and organized math lessons to create an educational and creative environment for a group of 20 children every week. More than $1,000 worth of Legos were collected from the Charter School of Morgan Hill, Oakwood, Sobrato, United Methodist Church, Thinker Toys, and many individuals in the community.
“The program was totally worth running. Working with the kids was awesome,” DeVries said. “They are some of the nicest and most polite kids I ever met.”
After a series of four lessons, all of the Legos were donated to the children of Jasmine Square, under the watchful eye of Michelle Montoya, director of The Bridge Program.
“The Bridge Program would like to thank Rachel and Rose and all of their volunteers,” Montoya said. “The kids were so excited on Lego Days – the volunteers were patient and worked great with the kids. It was an organized, creative, positive program and we really appreciate all of their time and effort putting it together!”
Among the many donations was 2-foot Star Wars Star Destroyer that became the Grand Prize in an exciting Lego raffle. DeVries and McMillan want to thank everyone who donated their time and Legos for making the program extraordinary.
“On the fourth week when we gave them their individual Lego packages, their faces lit up!” McMillan recalled. “Seeing that definitely gave significance to the holiday season.”
