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5th ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF HOPE

Virtual Community Experience Spotlighted Regional GED Program

By Shana Thornton November 7, 2020

The 5th Annual Celebration of Hope: A Virtual Community Experience recently highlighted the efforts of the Students Working To Achieve Greatness (SWAG) Program of Connecting Henry, Inc. As a COVID-19 precaution, the annual event was presented as an online event by the award-winning family radio talk show Let's Talk America on Saturday, November 7, 2020. The highly viewed celebration highlighted the success and community impact of the regional non-profit GED Program. This year's online event was emceed by Shana Thornton and included remarks from Barbara Coleman and James Williams of Connecting Henry, Inc. Recent program graduate James Ross spoke about his successful experience with the work readiness program. National recording artist Jill Miller and family comedian Treandos performed for the viewing audience. Keynote remarks were made by medical doctor Richard Wright who shared encouraging advice for program participants. 


Donations accepted from the virtual event directly benefited the SWAG Program of Connecting Henry, which is designed to assist at-risk, out of school Henry County youth ages 16 to 24. Free personalized GED preparation classes are provided by the community program. The Annual Celebration of Hope was founded in 2016 by Shana Thornton. In the past, the event was presented as a luncheon and an awards ceremony. Steering committee members include George Jeburk, Mildred Reed, Sonji Monroe, Cassandra Ryan, Yolanda Browne, Brandi Greene, LaSonji Rivers, Tiffany Gordon and Deborah Lockhart. The 6th Annual Celebration of Hope is set for November 2021. 
  

To view the 5th Annual Celebration of Hope, community members can visit the link below:










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