Local school teacher struggling to fundraise for summer camp

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - A Sandy Springs schoolteacher is on a mission to send all 150 of her English as a second language students to summer camp.

She's done so twice before, but this year, inflation makes it harder to raise funds.

Nicole Gray wants to make a clear distinction: Her students don't speak broken English, but summer camp can advance their vocabulary.

"If their parents don't speak English, they could spend the entire summer without it, setting them back for when they return to school in the fall," she said.

"I have to draw a picture and write why I wanted to go to summer camp," fourth grader, Max Hernandez said.

He and Mathew Ramirez have been to Lion Pride summer camps before. For them, it's just fun.

But Gray says it's more than that.

"So many of our families work in the service industry, when all things shut down so quickly," she said of 2020.

Nicole Gray is on a mission to send all 150 of her English as a second language students to summer camp.

Lion Pride is a nonprofit that started in the pandemic as a means of helping families with household heads in nonessential jobs. Gray said it evolved into educational help for Lake Forest school students and families.

For the past two years, Gray has helped raise more than 30 thousand dollars to send English as a second language students to immersive camps.

The time they spend having a blast and speaking in a language they don't speak at home only helps them in the future.

On one hand, studies show those who speak a second language can make up to 20% more than someone who doesn't. On the other, a student who doesn't speak English at home over the summer could fall behind in school.

"Kids that don’t speak English at home, they have more limited vocabulary. At camp, they see new things, try new things. They go out into world see new things meet new people."

As of this week-about 14 students can't go to camp,

Last year, the community raised $32,000. This year, they need $39,000 because camp costs increased due to inflation. As of Thursday, Lion Pride still needs $6,000 to send all the kids to camp.

"We’ve written grants, sold T-shirts, had an online auction that raised $11,000," Gray said. But they're still short.

Anyone who'd like to donate can find fundraising information here.