West Georgia Star closes out summer with back-to-school retreat

On Friday, West Georgia Star held its annual back-to-school retreat to close out its summer camp.

LaGrange Housing Authority CEO Zsa Zsa Heard said the event is held to close out its summer camp which runs May through July. West Georgia Star is a non-profit run by LHA to support its residents and the surrounding community.

The event included plenty of school supply giveaways, including clothing. Heard said they were giving away clothing new kids’ clothing that was donated, so students can start back to school right.

“We wanted to give them away to anybody that comes out from the community,” Heard said.  “These clothes are brand new, so they can take them to start their school clothes.”

Along with bookbags with care packages of toiletries and other school supplies, WGS also gave away educational toys that kids could pick out to take home.

There was also plenty of food and summertime treats with free hotdogs and snow cones.

The event also served as an opportunity to share information about West Georgia Star’s resident services.

WGS offers an after-school program where kids can come when school starts back from 2:30 to 6 p.m.

“Every day they’ll get mentoring, tutoring services and any types of partnerships we have,” Heard said. “Brain Jogging will be here this year, and it will be offered to all the children because the Callaway Foundation gave us a grant to be able to give Brain Jogging to children from second to fourth grade.”

Heard explained that Brain Jogging is a tutoring tool to help stimulate brain activity so the students can perform better in school.

WGS also has services for adults with their Leadership Academy, which is for adults who are not working. Attendees can enroll in a 12-week curriculum that covers topics ranging from budgeting to anger management. Participants can talk about going back to college and get help picking up a trade.

Heard said they focus on helping attendees get a job they like and want to do every day rather than just something to pay their bills.

This is the third year WGS has closed out its summer camp with the back-to-school retreat.

WGS hosts a summer camp, Monday through Thursday after school ends. Throughout the summer, students receive mentoring, tutoring and go on field trips.

“They’ve gone anywhere from the Wild Animal Park in Pine Mountain to William Griggs Center and their new pool to Camp Pioneer,” Heard said. “They’ve had activities every day learning about things in school science to learning about green energy.”

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