2011 Celebration of Excellence
Our Eighth Annual Celebration of Excellence Dinner was on May 26, 2011 at Lake of Isles.
Charity Bell was our distinguished alumni speaker.
Charity grew up in Ledyard in what she describes as a very troubling home environment. She remembers Ledyard High School as a source of great support during this difficult time. After graduating from LHS in 1991, she attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music on a scholarship. After school she joined the Peace Corps and experienced 18 months in a remote West African village where she was the only English speaker within 15 miles. When Charity returned to the United States, she became director of an art foundation for at‐risk youth and began her life as a foster parent. She pursued a graduate degree at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, often bringing her drug‐addicted foster newborns to class with her. She now works at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Charity has been recognized as an "Everyday Hero" by Brian Williams of NBC News and was featured in Good Housekeeping magazine for her work with more than 60 foster children. She is married and the mother of a two‐year old boy.
Charity Bell was our distinguished alumni speaker.
Charity grew up in Ledyard in what she describes as a very troubling home environment. She remembers Ledyard High School as a source of great support during this difficult time. After graduating from LHS in 1991, she attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music on a scholarship. After school she joined the Peace Corps and experienced 18 months in a remote West African village where she was the only English speaker within 15 miles. When Charity returned to the United States, she became director of an art foundation for at‐risk youth and began her life as a foster parent. She pursued a graduate degree at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, often bringing her drug‐addicted foster newborns to class with her. She now works at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Charity has been recognized as an "Everyday Hero" by Brian Williams of NBC News and was featured in Good Housekeeping magazine for her work with more than 60 foster children. She is married and the mother of a two‐year old boy.