Alexandra Reynolds and Lauren Riley, both of Brookline, are among this year’s President’s Volunteer Service Awards silver award honorees. 

Each year, the President of the United States recognizes volunteers throughout the country with the awards. 

Reynolds and Riley are being recognized for their work as citizen teachers with the national nonprofit Citizen Schools. These individuals spend several hours each week sharing their expertise in their respective fields with middle school students in low-income communities as a way to help close the opportunity gap which exists between these students and their counterparts in more affluent communities.

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 2015-16 school year, over 2,300 citizen teachers taught more than 1,000 apprenticeships.