Path To Shine

The Path to Shine Art Contest made a triumphant return this year! All 7 programs participated, which meant over 80 students created wonderful works of art!

The programs forwarded their favorites to PTS HQ, where a 3-person panel of judges chose their favorites.

3 winners were selected and 2 for honorable mention. 8 additional works were chosen for notecards.

Kiare, known as Kiki, is pictured with her framed artwork presented by Path to Shine Executive Director Chris Ferguson.

Click on the pictures below to get a better view of the cards.

Winners:
Brittany G.A. - Norcross, 5th grade
Kiare G.- Fayetteville, 1st grade
Gianna - Roswell, 3rd grade

Honorable Mention:
Thelma T. - Columbus, Kindergarten
Deonte R. - Roswell, Kindergarten

Notecard Additions:
Natalia L. - Canton
Lupita - Roswell
Yaleyla - Fayetteville
Sofia - Norcross
Zulay- Norton Park
Melanie - Norton Park
Daniel - Norton Park
Jailene- Canton

Here's how you can get a set of notecards (choose 1):

Sign up as a Monthly Donor at any amount by June 30, 2026
-You can do this via Bill Pay at your bank or online at Path to Shine's donation link (pathtoshine.org/donate)

Donate at least $25 by check or online by June 30, 2026
-Email [email protected] or include a note that you would like the notecards

Each set will contain at least 10 folded notecards with envelopes. The cards are blank inside.

Donations can be mailed to:
Path to Shine
2160 Cooper Lake Rd Se
Smyrna, GA 30080

Thanks for your support!

Path to Shine served 94 students across 7 programs this school year — and 85 of them crossed the finish line with us. Every one of those children showed up, worked hard, and persevered. We're so proud of all of our mentees.

We are excited to announce the return of Swing for PTS on the morning of Saturday, October 24th at Topgolf in Atlanta.

This family-friendly event is our only fundraiser for 2026. We have a great buffet breakfast, 3 hours of Topgolf play with a friendly tournament, and an amazing silent auction.

Please mark your calendar for Saturday, October 24th.

Spread the word!

We love our Facebook followers and want to make sure you are receiving emails and volunteer updates from Path to Shine. The easiest way is to visit

https://pathtoshine.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/newsletter-sign-up

to sign up for our email list. We send 1-3 emails per month so we won't be filling up your email box.

Thanks for your support!

pathtoshine.dm.networkforgood.com

We are so excited Charlie Ferguson Community Center is utilizing the Path to Shine van this month to transport youth to swim lessons! Swimming is great exercise, promotes cognitive and motor skills development, and swim lessons reduce drowning risk.

Give Charlie Ferguson Community Center a follow to see all the great work they are doing in the community of Canton.

Special thank you to Sonia with Cherokee Focus for making the connection.

Fun Fact Friday! Path to Shine graduated 19 fifth graders this year! Most of the fifth graders attended Path to Shine for 3+ years and several had previous siblings who graduated from Path to Shine previously and/or have younger siblings in Path to Shine.

Path to Shine really is a family affair!

A special shoutout to local Atlanta artist Nyala Yvonne for creating the certificate each graduate received.

Path to Shine also provided a $50 gift card to each graduate for books and school supplies.

Path to Shine Dunwoody was the last program to end this year. After getting off to a late start, the program had a great year supporting their Fab 5 students. Ana, our fifth grade graduate, is an amazing artist so her mentor Polly brought in painting kits for all the kids. Polly suggested they paint outside in the spirit of plein air painting. We celebrated Ana with a ceremony and light refreshments. Her dessert of choice Key Lime cupcakes was made by Polly. They tasted wonderful!

The following week, we took a special excursion to Chuy's Tex Mex for a special snack time then visited Barnes and Noble for the kids to acquire one more book for the summer.

Thanks to all who make the Dunwoody program a success!

A great day at Columbus Path to Shine!

Thomas is one of Path to Shine Columbus’ graduating 5th grader. He was excited to share his awards, medals, and certificates. Thomas is a voracious reader. His 3 younger sisters, who also attend Path to Shine, complained that he reads so much he doesn’t have time to play with them 😂

Path to Shine Columbus wrapped up yesterday with a wonderful pizza party and celebration. The students and mentors celebrated the great year of success. The students received their books and games for the summer.