United Parcel Service: Eastern Georgia District
Since May of 1992, United Parcel Service's Eastern Georgia District has been in partnership with Thurgood Marshall Middle School. UPS volunteers spend time each month creating programs to enhance the education process and the look of the school. The partnership has grown to include additional funding that supports special recognition for students and teachers.
In September of 1995, Hands On Atlanta's AmeriCorps program placed a team of 11 full-time AmeriCorps members at Thurgood Marshall. Their goals were to support teachers, provide tutorial assistance to students and to complete other service projects in the school community.
In partnership with Hands on Atlanta, UPS volunteers offer a wide range of programmatic support to Thurgood Marshall Middle School. During the school year, the partnership coordinates the "Teacher of the Month" recognition ceremony and generates more than a 100 person volunteer turnout for Hands On Atlanta Day, where participants work together painting and renovating the school grounds. In addition, they facilitate a Saturday tutorial program for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and coordinate UPS Day.
UPS Day is an annual event at Marshall when UPS volunteers from the Georgia District come out to show and tell students what they do and how they got to their current positions. This event draws the attention of students with a tour of a UPS delivery truck and a chance to have their pictures taken in front of a truck from the original fleet.
The direct results of their efforts include the transformation of Marshall, a once tough school environment, to a school that celebrates education and achievement. Marshall is now a school where students have a greater sense of the possibilities for their futures and experience higher self-esteem.
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