Eta Sigma Alpha National Homeschool Honor Society

       In March, we had the privilege of working with Professor Frances McCutcheon from Roanoke College, who spoke about the organization she runs called Toy Like Me. Toy Like Me seeks to make toys which represent children with disabilities. We also had the opportunity to make some toys for organization, sewing gastric tubes onto stuffed animals. It was an incredible opportunity to hear about this organization's impact and participate in a different type of service project. You can find out more about Toy Like Me here .

  In February, we volunteered for the Local Office on Aging's "Soup For Seniors" event, bagging donated food to send to the elderly in the area. The initiative itself delivered over 2,850 bags, and our team helped to bag around 500 of those! It was such a fun opportunity to serve! To learn more about the Local Office on Aging and the Soup for Seniors event, click here . 

  At our January 2024 Meeting, Mr Zack Shiffer spoke to us about his work as a small-business owner. He owns the Harley-Davidson branch in the Roanoke area, and he was able to share from experience a bit of his journey towards becoming a small-business owner as well as advice to those interested in pursuing that path. He discussed everything from employees to finances to franchises. It was an interesting and enlightening talk! 

For our December 2023 meeting, we volunteered at the West End Center. We read with kids, played basketball and other outdoor games, and enjoyed meeting and interacting with the children there. The West End Center is an after school program which offers services to encourage the kids' "holistic" development. It was a wonderful and fun opportunity to serve. Learn more about the West End Center here . 

 In our November 2023 meeting, we had the pleasure of hearing Mr Chris Ronk speak to us about money and a wise, Biblical approach to personal finances. Mr. Ronk is the Chief Financial Officer at Carolina University and was able to share many practical pieces of advice regarding loans, budgeting, and investing. It was an engaging and helpful talk! We also inducted two new members to the Honor Society: Owen Bishop and Gabriella George.

  For our October 2023 meeting, we did a service project for the Friendship House kids after school program, creating an obstacle course at Highland Park for the kids to enjoy, and helping with childcare and play supervision at the park for the afternoon. To learn more about the Friendship house, click here . It was a great time to provide some fun for the kids and bond as a group! 

  In our September 2023, we inducted in four new members to the National Homeschool Honor Society: Ben Ronk, Elijah Townsend, Ella Cox, and Gideon Shiffer (new inductees not pictured: Owen Bishop and Gabriella George). After this, we elected officers for the upcoming year, with Leah Bouldin as president, Caleb Giraudeau as Vice President, Ben Ronk as Treasurer, Claire Higgins as secretary,  Grace Cordle as webmaster/historian/PR chair,  Elijah Townsend as parliamentarian, Madison Hare as snack/devotions coordinator. To close, we discussed plans for potential speakers and service projects for the upcoming year! 

 For our April 2023 meeting, we met for a time of fellowship to celebrate the end of the year. We also recognized the seniors of our group: Heidi Jackson, Lydia Lankford, Amelia Winn, Nate Giraudeau, Baker Dean, and Bethany Droubay. It was a fun way to end out the year! Congratulations and Godspeed to all of our graduates! 

      For our March meeting, Mr. Childress spoke to us about the topic of grit. He shared about his experiences at the United States Military Academy West Point and his time in the military. He also spoke about his time after the military, pursuing a career and eventually starting his own marketing business, Agile Marketing Collective . His talk was interesting and full of wisdom!