Norfolk Academy's Literacy Fellows students work in partnership with community organizations to help children advance their reading, writing, and other skills.
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic made that work a greater challenge this spring, as schools throughout Virginia closed their campuses. However, the Fellows wanted to continue helping.
For years, Fellows have traveled after school to Tidewater Park Elementary, a Title I school on Brambleton Avenue near Downtown Norfolk, to aid children through a program with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia. Just last fall, Fellows celebrated the organization's 100th anniversary by editing and publishing a book in which children wrote about their valuable club experiences.
When the pandemic hit, the Clubs started posting videos to YouTube and other social media outlets, offering a virtual way to access its many resources. The daily videos covered various topics using catchy titles: Motivational Monday, Transformation Tuesday, Wellness Wednesday, Tech Thursday, and Fitness Friday.
Fellows jumped into action, filming videos for the Clubs. They included everything from at home exercises and dance lessons to yoga poses and clever ways to tie shoelaces.
“We just want to thank them for their support," Mr. Reggie Carter, Service Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia, says in one video. “They've been doing a great job of working with our kids at Tidewater Park Elementary for several years now."
You can watch the videos the Fellows created:
You can see other Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia videos on its YouTube Channel.
Please read more about our Batten Fellows Program.