This August, the Madison Heights campus of Ross Medical Education Center held a school supply drive to benefit the local Madison District Public Schools. Their efforts could not have come at a better time as Madison Heights was hit with record-breaking rains and consequential floods on August 11th. For the duration of the month, Ross students, staff, and faculty collected pencils, crayons, backpacks, notebooks, pens, binders, and much more for students in need in their community.
Just in time for the 2014-2015 school year to begin, Nicole Skudlarek, Madison Heights Campus Director, and Rachelle Thomson, Office Assistant and co-chair for the event, contacted the school district to deliver the donations. Skudlarek and Thomson were then invited by the school’s superintendent, Mr. Ron Speck, to attend the September school board meeting to present the donation. The school board was very grateful for Ross’ contribution to the district’s students in need of supplies this year. In addition to the box packed with donations, the campus filled a backpack.
A school administrator mentioned that he had a particular student in mind for the backpack whose family and home had been devastated by the recent flooding. Like many people in the surrounding areas, some Madison Heights residents lost their cars, furniture, and other belongings in the flood. As the school year was about to begin, for many area families, spending money on supplies took a back seat to repairing damaged homes and attempting to salvage cars.
Everyone on the Madison Heights campus was thrilled about the opportunity to support students in their community. Nicole Skudlarek, Campus Director, commented, “I was really excited to give back to the community in which we operate and serve.” Her sentiment was echoed by Rachelle Thomson, Office Assistant, “as an alumni of Madison District Public Schools, I was honored to give back to the community that gave me so much…including great memories!! I want to thank the students and staff of Ross for giving me the opportunity to do so!”