ATLANTA— State Representative Sandra Scott (D-Rex) appeared as a guest speaker for the Clayton County first graduating class of the Orange Duffle Bag (ODB) Initiative on Saturday, April 26, 2014. ODB is a 12-week after school program that provides at-risk teens and young adults programs to improve their educational success, ongoing advocacy, support to their guardians and caring adults, and service to the community.
“My heart was truly touched by the stories, songs, dances, and poems the students shared about their experiences over the last 12 weeks,” said Rep. Scott. “It is an experience that I would invite everyone to come see how ODB made a difference in each of the student lives. I would like to thank Mr. Mike Daly, the Founder of ODB, and his staff for giving the students in Clayton County a new beginning. I would also like to thank Superintendent Luvenia Jackson for giving us this opportunity to work with students in Clayton County Public Schools and Chamber of Commerce President Yulonda Beauford for supporting the program.”
The first graduating class of Clayton County’s Orange Duffle Bag Initiative held their graduation ceremony on April 26, 2014 at Clayton State University. The ODB Class consisted of 25 students from Morrow High School, one student from DeKalb County and one from Cobb County. Upon completing the 12-weeks of training, each student received a laptop in their Orange Duffle Bag.
The mission of the Orange Duffle Bag Initiative is to provide at-risk teens and young adults with programs to improve their education success, ongoing advocacy, support to their guardians and caring adults, and service to the community in a spirit of offering hope and positive systematic change. The 12-week after school program provides executive level certified coaching to high school students who are homeless, in foster care, experiencing high poverty, or students that are at a significantly greater risk of not completing their education. ODB helps these young adults with limited resources create an education plan and connects them to solutions for their post-secondary success.
Representative Sandra Scott represents the citizens of District 76, which includes portions of Clayton and Henry counties. She was first elected into the House Representatives in 2010, and currently serves on the Human Relations & Aging, Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, Science and Technology, and Special Rules committees.
###