Cary, NC – Every year, Americans who give their time to help others are presented with the President’s Volunteer Service Awards. And this year, three Cary residents who work to educate students without many resources were recognized for their effort.

Chelsi Cole, Reginald Liger and Bijal Shah all received the silver award through their work as teachers in Citizen Schools. This is a national non-profit that partners volunteers with low-income middle school students to give them access to teaching and guidance in math, science, technology and other related fields.

“They serve not only as mentors and role models, but also motivational figures. Our students see possibility for their own futures in our Citizen Teachers and are inspired to set high goals for themselves. We thank our volunteers for their enthusiastic commitment to the mission of Citizen Schools,” said Emily McCann, CEO of Citizen Schools.

Through this volunteer effort, the goal is to close the achievement gap between created in low-income areas. Nationally, 112 volunteers Citizen Teachers were honored with these awards.

Citizen Schools are currently operating in six states across the country.

Story by staff reports. Photos courtesy of Citizen Schools. Community coverage sponsored in part by Everything’s Better Monogrammed in Cary