The staff of Ross Medical Education Center of Lansing, Michigan recognizes the impact a positive early learning experience has on every child. So, when Dental Assistant Program Chair Colleen Mee and Career Development Representative Shari Brooks shared the idea of partnering with a local school to “adopt a class.” Campus Director Michelle Rodesiler responded with an enthusiastic offer to head a campus-wide drive to help fulfill a classroom’s wish list.
The Lansing campus decided to partner with Shabazz Academy of Lansing. First Grade Teacher Mrs. Rowley shared her classroom supply list. and at the beginning of September, sufficient funds were raised to purchase almost every item on the list for each of the twenty-five first grade students. Collectively, the Ross Lansing campus was able to donate pencils and erasers, individual boxes of crayons, safety scissors for each student, bottles of Elmer’s glue and packs of two glue sticks for every student, as well as pencil boxes, dry erase markers, tissues, and sanitizing wipes and more. Many of the items included will be shared with the entire class throughout the school year as needed. Several large boxes of cheesy crackers were also included for the students to share as a snack.
Shari Brooks, Colleen Mee, and Lansing’s Financial Aid Student Representative Isis Figures delivered the supplies to Mrs. Rowley’s class at Shabazz Academy of Lansing where they were greeted with open arms. Mrs. Rowley and her assistant, Ms. Riggs, enthusiastically accepted the collection of classroom supplies. Isis Figures was pleased to be involved in this important drive, “I was very ecstatic to be a part of the school supply drive created by Lansing’s Director Michelle Rodesiler and our Dental Program Chair Colleen Mee! We gathered donations from staff and faculty to purchase almost all of the school supplies for Mrs. Rowley’s first grade class at Shabazz Academy. Shari Brooks and I decorated and packed three big boxes of supplies. It really is a good feeling to know that we were able to make an impact right here in our own community!!”
School budgets are tight, and it seems every year the list of items students and their families are required to provide increases. Supplies are needed throughout the year to ensure all children experience an equally beneficial educational experience… including healthy snacks to help them stay focused. With this in mind, staff and faculty members of Ross Medical Education Center of Lansing look forward to hosting another drive for Shabazz Academy in the not-too-distant future.