For the month of July, the Ross Medical Education Center Grand Rapids North, Michigan campus organized a collection of school supplies for one of their local elementary schools, William C. Abney Academy. The campus collected three large boxes worth of pencils, workbooks, colored pencils, crayons, rulers, markers, erasers, backpacks, and crayon/pencil boxes which will help little learners start a successful school year.
As a campus, they decided to choose a local elementary school to help with the upcoming school year with supplies. They reached out to their staff and students about helping the younger generation with the supplies they need to be successful. Then they chose William C. Abney Academy because members of the staff and faculty have friends that work there. They had heard that some children struggle to get all the supplies that they need for the year. After talking to the students and staff about the needs of the children, it was an easy decision to come together to help them.
The boxes were left outside the Campus Director’s office allowing staff and students to drop off items as they passed by. Students were excited and encouraged about what an awesome job they were doing. A student who is on externship for the Medical Assistant program, Kerrie Hill, said, “I think that this is a great thing to do. I grew up in a low income home, so I didn’t have much. And now I have been able to give back.” One of the instructors said, “this makes me proud to be a teacher here, seeing our students reaching out to help the children of William C. Abney Academy.”
William C. Abney Academy is always aiming to help all children reach for the stars, always have a positive learning environment, and to never stop learning. They have the same values as we do here at Ross: always put the students and the community first. The recipients of the school supplies, from William C. Abney Academy were Mr. Paul Adams, the school principal and teachers Mrs. Lori Brazelle, Ms. S.C., and Mr. Bowman. They were overjoyed and excited to see all the supplies.
The teachers and staff of from the school were very appreciative. They thanked Ross staff, faculty, and students for their donations and expressed that helping each other as a community will build strong relationships like this and teach the children in the local elementary schools that teamwork makes the dream work. “We are pleased that we were able to help our local teachers who are building the next generations of professionals with some supplies,” said Campus Director Amira Curic. “We are looking forward for more partnerships in future.”