MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, mcardoza@gadoe.org, 404-651-7358
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March 31, 2015 – The Georgia American Legion has donated
$10,000 to help State School Superintendent Richard Woods and the Georgia
Department of Education distribute copies of the Constitution to every
fourth-grader in Georgia.
Superintendent Woods first spoke about the
project, which upon completion will provide a pocket copy of the Constitution
to each of Georgia’s 120,000+ fourth-graders, in the early days of his term.
All funding will be donated and no taxpayer funds will be used to purchase or
distribute the Constitutions.
“I am so grateful to the American Legion of
Georgia for recognizing the importance of this project and helping us bring it
to life,” Superintendent Woods said. “I have a concern for our nation that our
young people need to know and understand what our veterans fought for – our
freedom. They need to know about the greatness of America and the importance of
sacrifice. The Constitution is the bedrock of our beliefs and values as a
country – understand it, study its words, and you understand why those
sacrifices are made. This is a document that begins ‘we the people,’ not ‘we
the government.’ Knowing that next year, more than 120,000 fourth-graders will
be able to carry those words with them, literally and figuratively, is a great
thing. I’m thrilled to provide these Constitutions as a gift to our students
and, as a former social studies educator, thrilled to provide them as a
resource to their teachers.”
Donations are still underway to fund the full
project. Anyone interested in contributing can make a tax-deductible donation
to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education by sending a check and
designating it to “Pocket Constitutions.”
Georgia Foundation for Public Education
2066 Twin Towers East
205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, SE
Atlanta, GA 30334
