Dedicated to Making a Difference

Upon graduating from college, Britton desired to use her knowledge to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

For many young adults, the year after college graduation is a time of uncertainty. Where will I work? Where will I live? What am I going to do with my life, now that school is over?

But after Britton Tuck graduated, she hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped. The first site coordinator for fledging affiliate Communities In Schools of Milledgeville/Baldwin County, Georgia, the 23-year-old has helped establish two sites on school campuses, and has another five starting in the next few months.

After graduating from Georgia College & State University in 2009 with a degree in community health and human services, Britton knew she wanted to use her knowledge to make a positive difference. She got involved with AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program dedicated to fighting poverty. VISTA members volunteer full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency.

“I was told that there was an opening with a Communities In Schools affiliate that was just starting,” Tuck said. “I thought, ‘Let’s give Baldwin County all we’ve got’ and I applied for and got the job.”

Britton’s first assignment as a site coordinator was to make sure the students of Oak Hill Middle School had everything they needed to stay in school and achieve in life. And while working with kids who are suffering from poverty, hunger, and family and social issues is exhausting work, Tuck took to her mission with gusto.

“She has compassion for students who are going through difficult times,” said Sandy Baxter, executive director of Communities In Schools of Milledgeville/Baldwin County.

In the span of one school year, Tuck changed the lives of Oak Hill’s students. She organized a three-day health fair, an after-school program dedicated to girls’ empowerment, and a group mentoring partnership with Georgia College & State University.

But Tuck is most proud of the clothing closet. The country’s economic troubles have particularly affected the small town of Milledgeville. Many parents have lost their jobs, leaving their children without basic resources.

 In a small classroom, the young woman collected new and gently used pants and shirts through a clothing drive, donations, several generous financial donations and a lot of searching in Goodwill. She put all the outfits on a rack donated from J.C. Penney.

“It was like a mini-shopping experience. The kids could go through the clothing rack and pick what they liked; it wasn’t like a stack of used clothes in boxes on the floor.” Tuck said. “To see their faces light up when they learned they weren’t wearing hand-me-downs and that the clothes were just for them was absolutely amazing.”

More than 200 students benefitted from the clothing closet last year. And for some, it was the only clothing the students owned. 

This coming school year, Communities In Schools of Milledgeville/Baldwin County is growing. Tuck will be in charge of training four new site coordinators and any other site coordinators that their affiliate may get funding for through the year, and has already created resource notebooks for each one. But in 2012, her contract with AmeriCorps and Communities In Schools will end. She doesn’t know where the future will take her, though she knows it will be to a place where she can continue to change the world for the better.

“Making a difference is one of those things that takes a hold of you when you get started,” Tuck’s executive director said. “You totally get captured by the mission, or you don’t stay very long. She’s captured by the mission. She’s going to be an asset to others forever. I’m sure of it.”