Teen Resident Gives Back

High school is a stressful time for teenagers. Balancing friends, family responsibilities, grades, extracurricular activities, and college prerequisites isn’t easy, but Bertha, a teen resident at The Village at Beechwood, does all of this and more.

 
Bertha understands the importance of giving back to her community and is committed to improving her neighborhood. In 2006, she started working as a Youth Education Volunteer at Beechwood’s LINC Cares after-school program. Since then, she’s logged more than 650 volunteer hours, more than any other LINC Cares volunteer. “She’s there on time and doesn’t leave until the program facilitator locks the door at the end of the night,” said Teresa Sosa, assistant property manager.

 
Although Bertha’s main responsibility to the program is to help students with their homework and art projects, she goes above and beyond her assigned tasks by spending extra time mentoring the younger students. “I really love working with the kids” said Bertha. “I hope to be a teacher some day.”

In July 2007, Bertha’s dedication to her community earned her the President’s Volunteer Service Award for serving more than 250 hours in one year. In October 2008, LINC echoed this praise by honoring Bertha with the LINC Cares Volunteer of the Year award.

Laura | Bebe | Bertha