Georgia Cyber Academy Family Group Helps Storm Victims
Parents looking into online education options often ask about socialization and community. Going to school online doesn’t mean opportunities to make real connections disappear. In fact, it can broaden the ways families meet, connect and support one another.
When I talk to families interested in online education options, I often share real life examples of our families coming together and forming real connections. This story from one of our partner schools, Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA), is a great example of the many ways online school communities can come together.
Georgia Cyber Academy Family Group North Georgia Disaster Relief
Last month, a series of violent tornados swept through areas of north Georgia, damaging homes and flattening many structures. A group of parents came together to help fellow GCA families who were affected by these destructive storms. As they started researching ways to help, it quickly became apparent that their informal efforts needed to expand into a coordinated, state-wide plan.
Georgia Cyber Academy parents Lisa Strickland and Alisha Youch coordinated the collection of donations from their local communities and recruited other GCA parents to do the same. Local businesses offered help by donating parking lot space, storage lockers and trucks to deliver the donations. Even friends and family in other states donated to help fuel the delivery trucks. All donations will be distributed by the GCA Family Group to existing local relief groups in the affected communities.
I asked GCA parent Lisa Strickland to share with us how this all came about:
To understand how this unfolded you must first understand that none of this would have happened had it not been for GCA and the K¹² program. We were drawn to K¹² and GCA by two key phrases: “partnership in education” and “unleash your xPotential.”
When we first started GCA, I had very limited computer skills past checking my email. My main goal was and still is to educate my son, who is currently a 3rd grader. Working towards that goal, K¹² is not only educating my son, but this old Southern girl as well!
The night these storms hit, I was on Facebook connecting with other GCA families. We, of course, were talking about the weather and the possible destruction. All of a sudden, it got bad–we had moms in basements, families hiding in hallways with no power. Many of us had the “find my husband, he was on the way home” feeling for literally hours and hours. I sat there, offering support as we made it through the storm—together. We lost contact when batteries died. When the storm was over, we checked in on neighbors, friends and family. Thankfully, we located everyone in our GCA community, but quickly discovered that many now needed help.
We all felt the need to do something and what started as an informal effort to support the GCA community expanded into a coordinated, state-wide plan to collect donations from across Georgia and deliver them to north Georgia communities in need.
From donating money, making phone calls, to handling all the techie stuff, this quickly turned into a group effort—all hands on deck. It truly is a great example of the GCA community coming together, helping and supporting one another. Georgia Cyber Academy is a family. We are all partners and consider it a way to unleash our xPotential.
This inspiring story highlighting the GCA community’s commitment to one another beyond the classroom helps to dispel the common misperception that by choosing online education, families lack opportunities to connect, get support and create real friendships. K¹² offers many ways to find families in your area. And if you add up all the offline and online opportunities that exist, you might even say that our families have an easier time connecting, meeting and supporting one another.
How you can help:
North Georgia Relief Effort 2011 Summary of North and Central Georgia Tornado Outbreak April 27th and 28th Fox Atlanta News: How to Help Georgia Storm Victims
Similar Posts:
- Veteran’s Day 2011
- Online Education Offers Families an Educational Choice
- The Family-Teacher Relationship
- Social Outings: Making Virtual Connections a Reality
- Creating Fit Families
