Chelsea Middle teacher receives Unsung Heroes grant

Chelsea Middle School teacher Charlsie Wigley recently received a $2,000 grant from Voya Financial as part of their Unsung Heroes program.

“Our Unsung Heroes program continues to recognize teachers who go above and beyond to inspire today’s students in the classroom,” said Heather Lavallee, president of Tax-Exempt Markets at Voya Financial. “We are proud to honor teachers like Charlsie Wigley, whose inspiring program is making a difference in the lives of young people.”

Wigley received the grant for her iMarch Films, which focuses on creating an innovative interdisciplinary project that allows students at Chelsea Middle School to connect the past and present. Once students read and learn about the Civil Rights Movement, students will go to the Civil Rights Institute to observe artifacts and gather further details on what took place at this time.

Students then have a chance to be paired with a local volunteer who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. The students interview the volunteers and create an educational video on the their stories. The final video is then featured in the school’s library and on the Civil Rights Institute’s website. Wigley hopes she can use the grant to have the films shared within other organizations to raise awareness of these local heroes.

The Voya’s Unsung Hero program has been able to award $5 million in grants to over 2,000 educators since the start of the program. Wigley was selected from a group of 1,200 applicants and will go on to compete for an additional prize of $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000.

Submitted by Shelby County Schools