Teresa Vandergriff, Penick Village’s Dining Room Manager, was awarded for her participation in Growing Moore Reader’s Reading Feeding Frenzy program that took place during the summer.

Vandergriff was responsible for preparing bagged lunches that were given to the children attending the program, parents & families, and community residents in need. Over the course of the 10 week program, Vandergriff prepared 870 total lunches.

The certificate “was an honor and a surprise,” says Teresa. “It was a real pleasure to be of service to the kids and their families. It brought back memories of my many years as a teacher in a classroom. Reading is the subject I taught, so it is very important to me and very important for the kids as well.”

Growing Moore Readers, a program led by the non-profit organization Partners for Children and Families, began in 2012 as a smaller collaborative group called Southern Pines Grows Great Readers. This town-focused collaborative received a National Pacesetter Award in 2015 for its work towards summer learning. With its success in Southern Pines, program leaders decided to expand it throughout Moore County, changing the organization name to Growing Moore Readers.

For more information about Penick Village, a Life Plan Community in downtown Southern Pines, please contact (910) 692-0300 or visit our website www.penickvillage.org

Pictured Above: COO Caroline Hendricks presents the award to Vandergriff