At Anna Julia Cooper School, students are surrounded by people who show up for them in many different ways.

One of those people is Janet Williams, a Gabriel Award recipient and dedicated volunteer of five years. Janet provides occupational therapy to students in grades K–8–support that is often difficult to access, but offered here at no cost.

We love that Janet always arrives with the most interesting items in her bag, thoughtfully chosen to reinforce the skills she is building with students. Students eagerly look forward to her visits – and to discovering what fun things her giant bag holds.

No two visits with Janet are the same, and her variety of activities are helping students develop fine motor skills for fluent handwriting.