Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/292122
4 spirit by choosing heroes to honor in an inspiring assembly as their studies con- clude. ese heroes come from all walks — a crossing guard, a substitute teacher, the lunchroom lady, the school janitor, a firefighter and so on. "One hero our students chose was the police officer who teaches drug pre- vention in the DArE program and another was our assistant principal who just returned from active military duty," says Gwen Wheeler, principal of Jackson Intermediate School, about 60 miles north of Mobile. A miniature Statue of Liberty — man- ufactured in Huntsville and containing an actual fragment of the Liberty Island original — is presented to each hero. "e kids came up with innovative ways to pay for those statues," Wheeler says proudly. "ey didn't ask their parents for money. ey earned it." e seeds of good are planted, for certain, but Alabama Power's ralph Bellamy knows there's even more to come. "right now, the Alabama Power Foundation's grants are in excess of a quarter-million dollars — and that's just the cash," says Bellamy, the Southeast Division area manager. "When you look at the volunteer time, you can't begin to quantify." Having helped launch a pilot program in Eufaula, Bellamy has wit- nessed the growth and the potential. "Alabama Power's culture is to make the community better through our involvement — our leadership from the top down is to be bigger than our bottom line. e Super Citizen program has surpassed all our expecta- tions; now we're looking at how to take it to the next level. is has potential to develop beyond all of our dreams. "We can sustain that energy and excitement into a life-long commit- ment to be Super Citizens," he says. "ese kids are our future." Check out videos about Liberty Learning and its community impact at libertylearning.org. Carolanne Roberts is a Birmingham journal- ist who has worked in newspapers, public relations and for 26 years at Southern Living, where she served as travel editor, features editor and special regional sections editor. LIBErTY continued from page 3 ● Liberty Learning Foundation is Alabama- based, yet has taken programs to Georgia schools and seven additional states. ● More than 10,000 Alabama students have earned Super Citizen status with more cur- rently participating. ● Original funding came from Davis Lee, AlaTrade Foods in Marshall County. The venture became Liberty's Legacy, the overview agency for the Super Citizen program. ● Liberty's Legacy owns the licensing rights from the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation to use materials for educational purposes. ● Liberty Learning Foundation, the funding arm, works hand in hand with the Alabama Power Foundation to offer the program in all six Alabama Power divisions. ● Davis Lee also donated the colorful RV (known as the Next Great Americans Tour Bus) carrying Lady Liberty Live to her program launches. ● Tennessean Rachael Rainwater is Lady Liberty Live, combining her acting training with a genuine love of country. "To see kids as excited as they are is emotional," she admits. "I love to see them singing their hearts out about America." ● Ahead: a specially designed DVD-based program for children grades (Pre)-K-2 to second-grade. THE FACTS