Each year, the President of the United States recognizes volunteers throughout the country with the President’s Volunteer Service Awards. Benjamin Eld from Boston’s North End is among this year’s silver award honorees. Eld is being recognized for his work as a Citizen Schools Citizen Teacher, and the award is a testament to his civic leadership.
As we say at Citizen Schools, it takes a village to serve our students. Among the leaders in that village are volunteer Citizen Teachers, who play a critical role in introducing students to engaging opportunities and diverse careers through 10-week apprenticeship programs. During the 2014-2015 school year, over 2,300 Citizen Teachers taught more than 1,000 apprenticeships, impacting over 5,300 students across our network.
This year, Benjamin Eld and 69 other volunteer Citizen Teachers received recognition from President Obama at the silver award level, which corresponds to a significant commitment: teaching three of the past four semesters.
Citizen Schools is celebrating Eld and all of the winning volunteers throughout the summer at “WOW!” events and at Citizen Teacher social occasions. (WOW! events involve students sharing with teachers, parents and community members what they learned during their apprenticeships.)
This award underscores the impact that Benjamin Eld and other Citizen Teachers are having on the community. It demonstrates a high level of appreciation for their commitment to sharing their knowledge and passion in order to inspire students to discover and achieve their own dreams.
