This year, Ross College North Canton, Ohio faculty, staff, and students collected over 300 school supply items for their 2nd annual participation in Project KARE’s Back to School Project. Project KARE stands for Kids Are the Responsibility of Everyone. It is a charitable organization that serves the needs of children and families serviced by the Stark County Job & Family Services, Children Services Division, as well as foster and adoptive children and families in Stark County, Ohio. One of their many programs is to collect school supplies from individuals, businesses, and organizations in the county and distribute them to children in need at a back-to-school event.
After the event, Project KARE Coordinator Michelle Neisel sent a thank you letter to the campus for their donation and she shared that they were thrilled to once again have so much community support. As Project KARE is exclusively focused on providing for the needs of abused, neglected, and dependent children and their families, every little bit helps “As we were starting a new term of classes, our small college wanted to contribute to helping children in need in our community were also ready for school,” shared Campus Director Shannon Trenta Kolm. “Based on what we collected, at least 20 children would have received most, if not all, of their school supplies this year.”
As they were collecting items for local student, the Ross College campus had a contest to see which class could collect the largest donation percentage per student. Several classes participated and the top three classes were given a thank you pizza party. Faculty participated with their students and staff also donated. The campus collected about 100 more items this year than last year! “I had the privilege of collecting and tallying the donations students brought in for Project KARE,” said Joe Greenwell, Assistant Campus Director of Education. “It was a privilege because I got to see how generous our students are.”