A Community Dreaming Big for its Children

This August, over 230 people from our community gathered for the Second Annual Dream Big Luncheon, featuring speaker Liz Huntley. Her story began in a way we see tragically often. Surrounded by drug addiction, abuse, and neglect, Liz should never have been able to become the nationally recognized lawyer, child advocate, author, and speaker that she is today. The course of her life changed when her first-grade teacher believed in her, saying, “Elizabeth, you’re going to be the brightest student I ever have.”

Liz went on to explain that being able to read from an early age was key to her success. Because she was able to read before entering school in first grade, she was able to navigate the world around her, even when she faced challenges like registering for school alone. That experience fuels her support of childhood education. She was excited to see Decatur’s commitment to early education and early literacy, looking around the room at all of the individuals and businesses who were there to support
the Foundation and the new Million Word Challenge.

Above all, Liz challenged us all to remember the impact we can have on the lives of our students. She says, “It’s so powerful what teachers do in school every day to transform lives.”

When you support our schools and our teachers, you’re
supporting life transformation for children all over our community.

How will you change lives this year?

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