Category: Education
Nominator: Jennifer Longo
What was their service?
In 2014 at the young age of 9 years old Rileigh Leighton created and established Rileigh’s Rainbows. Rileigh’s non profit organization provides school age students that attend the various schools in Monroe Township School District access to free school supplies. Each year Rileigh Rainbows raises funds through fundraising and private donations that she utilizes to purchase school supplies for less fortunate students.
What motivated them to serve/volunteer?
In 2014 when Rileigh was in 4th grade she noticed that many of her fellow classmates did not have school supplies. On her own she wanted to try and help solve this problem so she came up with the idea that she would purchase school supplies for students that needed them. She wanted to make sure her fellow classmates would have all the school supplies they needed so that they could be successful in the classroom. With the assistance of her family she established and created her own non profit/tax exempt organization Rileigh’s Rainbows.
What did they achieve/how did they make a difference?
Since Rileigh established her own non profit organization, Rileigh’s Rainbows, in 2014 she has been able to provide free school supplies to over 800 school age students that attend the various schools in the Monroe Township School District. For each student that has received school supplies through Rileigh’s Rainbows they have received book bags, binders, folders, pencils, pens, notebooks, crayons, etc. Rileigh strongly believes that by equipping students with the necessary school supplies this will enhance their educational journey and make them more successful in the classroom. Rileigh’s investment in the educational aspect of students’ lives by providing them with the necessary school supplies has truly enhanced the the lives of so many students in the Monroe Township School District.