Throughout the month of August, Ross Medical Education Center in New Baltimore collected school supplies for local New Haven Elementary School. This was the second consecutive year for this drive, and it has become a tradition that the campus will continue to do each year. This year, the campus decided to run a contest to see which class could bring in the most items per student. Several classes brought in impressive amounts, but the evening Dental Assisting students ended up being the winning class as they were able to collect five items per person.
As a campus overall, New Baltimore was able to collect and donate over 300 items and deliver them to an excited school staff during the first week back to school. Many of the items, including markers, crayons, paper, folders, binders, notebooks, and pencils are things that students will use daily. Ross staff, students, and faculty hope that this will offset some of the costs for families and teachers and allow students to be set up for success from the beginning.
Many families are unable to provide all of the supplies that their students need, so classroom teachers are often left to pick up the slack. The recent governmental funding cuts have also put pressure on schools and teachers, and they are always relieved when others in the community step up to help. Gary Mrak, the New Haven Elementary School principal, was extremely thankful and shared that “these [supplies] will definitely be used throughout the year!” The students and staff at Ross also were excited to help the teachers, school staff, and students in their community. Leighann Egan, Ross Career Development Representative in New Baltimore, helped with the delivery and said, “we love that we can participate and partner with such a wonderful school district.” The campus is already looking forward to raising more donations in next year’s drive!