Ross Medical Education in Brighton took on the “Stuff the Bus” community project this past July. The students, faculty, and staff at the campus spent the entire month collecting school supplies and stuffing a bus for Livingston Educational Service Agencies (LESA).
This project was meaningful to a lot of individuals at Ross Medical Education. Several faculty members and students were personally involved with LESA in previous years, and by participating in this drive, they were able to give back to the community on a more personal level. One of Brighton’s Office Assistants, Donna Wilson, is the one who suggested that Ross Medical Education partner up with LESA for a community project. Donna is a retired Special Education teacher who also had a child who received services from LESA. Donna explained that “families of these children face an additional financial burden of healthcare, therapy and other needed services for their children.” Providing school supplies to the families takes a little of the weight off their shoulders. By the end of July, the campus was able to successfully collect over 100 school items and supplies, from glue, notebooks, pencils, scissors and crayons. Tamara McConnell – an evening Medical Assistant student at Ross Education – also shared her previous experience with LESA. She stated, “I have personally done this program with my daughters and they enjoyed picking out their backpacks.”
LESA provides a variety of programs and services to support student achievement. Some services include career and technical education, special education, data processing, business operational support, and professional development. The mission of LESA is to “Promote a Culture of Educational Excellence for Livingston County through Service, Leadership, and Collaboration.” For the “Stuff the Bus” campaign, Ross Medical Education collected school supplies for a division of LESA that focuses on providing services to children who have developmental or health disabilities. LESA’s services support approximately 30,000 students and 2,300 educators in the five public school districts and two public school academies in Livingston County.
The agency will accept school supplies throughout the year at the LESA office in Howell. The supplies will be packed into backpacks and distributed to families two weeks before school is scheduled to begin in Livingston County. In addition to the faculty members and students working together to collect school supplies, parents also joined in and volunteered their time. The drive was a success and a wonderful way to give back to the community.