College students are recruited from all over the country through a competitive process. Successful candidates work for eight weeks during summers as the primary teachers for our students. The purpose of this program is to give young adults the opportunity to work as teachers with children from families with limited resources. Our long-term objective is that many of these summer teachers will pursue careers as teachers, non-profit leaders and other areas of service to people who may be left behind without assistance from dedicated, committed professionals. The program grew from six teachers in 2008 to 11 in 2016.

 

In Virginia, as in the rest of our nation, the rate of poverty in our rural communities ranges from 9.6% in Bedford County to 13.2% in Franklin County. In the twenty schools in our area where we provide services, over 5,000 children are eligible for the free or reduced-price school lunch program. Because the schools do not provide lunches during the summer, they are left with inadequate nutrition. These are the children that are also most at-risk of experiencing summer learning loss and falling into the achievement gap. These are the children we serve.​

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We invite you to become part of our community for a summer of work, fellowship, personal growth and transformation as you help us serve over 250 elementary school children in the Good Neighbors Summer Enrichment Day Camps in the Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia area.