PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — School children are still dealing with fallout from the pandemic, from social pressures, to struggling to catch up in school.
At Hunt Elementary School in Peach County, they are partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia to make sure students have an outlet to talk about life and get the support they need to have a bright future.
"Everyday is different, I find joy that the students, they always have smiles on their faces," Hunt Elementary School Keysha King said.
King keeps busy leading the young minds at Hunt Elementary.
"We have the opportunity starting in Pre-K, letter sounds, letter recognition, all the way up to 5th grade, we can see them reading and comprehending, so just seeing them read and grow, I love seeing them here at the Elementary level," King said.
When it comes down to ABC's and 1,2,3's the school has that covered! But when it comes to making sure the kids have support with issues from outside school walls, they're calling in help from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia.
"We've kind of been talking about it for a couple of years, we've had big brothers in the community, but I'm really excited this year, talking about partnering here at the school especially with the high school," King said.
King added the program will focus on first grade students who will be paired up with freshman from Peach County High School. Hopefully, serving as a positive light for kids that are facing new pressures from the world.
"One of the challenges I see is having the pressure from social media and different things, going home they have the social media, the games, the tick-tocks," King said.
While Big Brothers Big Sisters is stepping up to help at Hunt they need more mentors to step up.
"And then even in Peach County, we have a numerous kid that are standing there waiting in line," Betsy Fitzgerald with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia said.
Fitzgerald says the impacts from COVID-19 are still being felt across Central Georgia.
Those are just a few reasons why Hunt Elementary will roll out their mentoring program for first graders first, with the hope to help other grade levels in the future.
The end goal to show that mentors truly make a difference.
"As an adult having a role model, coming to a principalship, I have role models, I have mentors that I can go to and it always good when they come to me and praise me and it's no different from an adult to a child," King said.
If you would like more information on this program please reach out to the Peach County School District.