Each Wednesday, L’Observateur recognizes individuals and businesses in the River Parishes who have gone “above and beyond” in their efforts to make this a better place to live, work and play.

We believe an integral part of a community’s wellbeing is an attitude and arena where people who do good things … who work to improve life for others … who try to make a difference … are recognized and saluted.

Because this is a salute to members of the community of the entire River Parishes, we solicit your recommendations for groups or individuals to be considered for inclusion.

This week we salute:

• Local branches of Capital One Bank and Louisiana Federal Credit Union for again sponsoring a student savings account program at the two high schools in St. John the Baptist Parish. The first 100 students to sign up for the program and contribute $10 had their investment matched by one of the banking institutions and School Board member Russ Wise.

• Hahnville High School teacher Deborah S. Unger, who recently received a $4,640 service learning grant from the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation. Unger and her gifted English class plan to use the grant in the “Adolescents Advocate Literacy” project to promote reading at elementary schools across the St. Charles Parish region

• The efforts of the Distinguished Brothers and Distinguished Sisters Social Clubs, who donated a substantial amount of school supplies to students as Emily C. Watkins Elementary School in LaPlace. The groups

are also attempting to raise enough funds to build a recreational

facility for the youth in St. John Parish.

• St. Charles Community Health Center, which celebrated National Community Health Week with a series of recent events. The health center staged a back to school event at St. Anthony Outreach in Luling, a blood pressure and glucose screening, a free mammography exam to uninsured and underinsured women, and free immunizations to uninsured and underinsured children.