A Fulton County teen has found a growing national interest in her efforts to help foster children and other youngsters prepare for their day in court.
Sanjana Shah, a senior at Johns Creek High School, recently published two guides to help children in foster care — or other potentially scary situations — navigate their way through the state’s juvenile courts.
Credit: Courtesy of Sanjana Shah
Credit: Courtesy of Sanjana Shah
One is a short book that takes the reader through a fictional girl’s experience in court. The second is an activities booklet that uses Crayons, word finds, crossword puzzles and other tools to explain the role of the judge and what it means to testify.
Since being featured in the AJC’s Inspire Atlanta in September, Sanjana has seen a significant uptick in requests for copies, especially of the activities booklet.
She said she estimated that, by year’s end, she’ll have mailed out 5,000 copies of the activities booklet to volunteers with Court Appointed Special Advocate programs around the country.
Sanjana said she is working with officials in New York, Delaware, Texas and Georgia to revamp their states’ booklets to adhere to state laws.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanjana Shah
Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanjana Shah
Programs using her resources have provided positive feedback, including a special advocate program in Woodland, California. An official there sent her a note saying that Sanjana’s two creations “have been a fantastic resource for our youth. The activities are not only fun but also help in empowering and educating the kids.”
Sanjana’s 36-page book, “Lily Testifies in Court,” is geared to youngsters ages 8 to 15 and is based on her research and interviews, primarily with juvenile court officials in Fulton and Forsyth counties. Her activities book can be used with children of all ages, provided an adult is there to assist.
Sanjana has long wanted to help young children. As a high school freshman, she joined a nonprofit that put volunteers to work tutoring foster children in school subjects that challenge them. The volunteers also spent time with the foster children in fun extracurricular activities. One of the children she tutored confided that she had been overwhelmed and confused by all the strangers she met while going from foster home to foster home.
“I just really thought: Why is there this gap? Why does she feel so overwhelmed?” Sanjana said. “I started to see there is a need for resources that help these children and children in abusive situations.”
Sanjana was recognized last year by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. She received one of the organization’s highest literary honors, an American Voices Medal from the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The award is given to 1% of students from across the country who submitted 320,000 entries.
HOW TO HELP
To donate, visit her GoFundMe page, which can be found by putting her name in the search field at gofundme.com.
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