Springs Homeschool 6th-grade student Olivia Ghiloni of Chula Vista will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to participate in the 46th annual Jefferson Awards ceremony on Thursday, June 28.
Springs Homeschool 6th-grade student Olivia Ghiloni of Chula Vista will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to participate in the 46th annual Jefferson Awards ceremony on Thursday, June 28. She will be honored for her creation and implementation of “totes of hope,” which provides a tote bag with necessities and “comfort” items for foster children in San Diego. Necessity items include underwear, socks, brush, comb, toothbrush, and toothpaste; comfort items include teddy bears, journals, hacky balls, coloring books, and crayons.
Olivia said, “The totes will have a positive emotional impact on the foster children as they will positively change their experience during the traumatic placement process.”
Olivia joined with other Homeschool 6th graders for leadership conferences at UCLA, and then participated in the Jefferson Awards Foundation (JAF) “because I wanted to help my community.” She joined with other 6th graders to form The Hopeful Hands team, and then, according to ES Erin Spross, “… worked with her team to coordinate everything from brainstorming ideas, soliciting contributions, managing social media posts, holding ‘staff meetings,’ and delivering their totes.”
Ms. Spross continued, “I was so privileged to see all the hard work Olivia put into this project and was so proud of her … Her family has been homeschooling for two years with Springs and they are so thankful for all that homeschooling has allowed them to do with their girls, including an incredible project and experience like this.”
Olivia added, “Homeschooling with Springs has given me the flexibility I need to be able to be involved with projects such as JAF.” Olivia enjoys jumping rope and watching movies. After she finishes school, she wants to be a preschool teacher.
Olivia and her team and are trying to raise funds for their trip to Washington, DC. If you would like to help, please follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @toteofhope.
