White House Author

In 1988, Sanford Tollette transformed a summer camp for underprivileged kids, expanding it into a year-round program called the Alternative Classroom Experience. Located at Joseph Pfeifer Kiwanis Camp in Little Rock, Arkansas, ACE today helps 150 at-risk kids each year turn their lives around through an intensive residential educational program. A longtime member of the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Little Rock and a donor to the Kiwanis International Foundation, Sanford is proud to carry on the Kiwanis motto of “Serving the Children of the World.” Much of this service is carried out by his AmeriCorps team, the modern-day equivalent to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which helped build the facility in the 1930s. Thanks to Sanford’s leadership, students in third through fifth grades get help with their academic performance. They also build skills in problem-solving, crisis management and personal responsibility. Their parents are active participants as well, attending workshops on discipline, communication and more.