The Rashad M. McClaney Foundation

💎GEMS choose Chipotle dinner! The staff on Berryhill were awesome!

📚✨ Read Across Pike with GEMS ✨📚

Thursday was a beautiful day of literacy, leadership, and community! The GEMS (Girls Empowered to Mentor and Serve) from Charles Henderson Middle School had the wonderful opportunity to partner with Troy Elementary School for Read Across Pike.

Our GEMS scholars visited Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade classrooms, where they shared stories, smiles, and a love for reading with some very attentive young listeners. It was inspiring to watch our middle school girls step into leadership roles as they encouraged the youngest learners to explore the joy of books.

Moments like these remind us that mentorship can begin early and literacy opens the door to endless possibilities. We are proud of our GEMS for being positive role models and for helping build a community where students lift one another up.

A special thank you to the staff and students at Troy Elementary School for welcoming us so warmly, and to Charles Henderson Middle School for supporting opportunities that allow our girls to serve and lead.

📖 On Thursday we didn’t just read books…
💎 Our GEMS helped spark a love of learning.
McClaney