With flu and cold season upon us, evening Instructor Linda Stone from the Medical Assistant program at Ross Medical Education Center in Owensboro, Kentucky could not bear the thought of a child not having a warm coat for the winter. In fact, she stated, “when I think about how blessed I am, I want to be able to give back to others in need.” She shared her passion for making sure to keep her community’s children warm this winter with her campus staff, faculty, and students, hoping to find a way to make a difference.
Shortly after, Campus Director LaTasha Shemwell found out that Family Resource Centers for local elementary schools are always in need of coats for area children. When LaTasha proposed the idea of a coat drive to the students of Ross in Owensboro, they did not hesitate to participate. The students, staff, and faculty came together and over the course of two weeks they were able to have collected 40 coats for children between Kindergarten and sixth grade.
After the drive, the coats that had been collected were delivered to a local elementary school, and they were very appreciative. LaTasha Shemwell stated, “it felt good to know that at least 40 would not continue coatless this winter.” Other supplies family resource centers are in need of are school glue, scissors, rulers, pencils, pens, highlighters, crayons, folders and binders, backpacks, and calculators. There are still some elementary schools that participate in the backpack program. Certain children are chosen to be sent home on the weekends with a backpack of non-perishable foods such as pudding, peanut butter crackers, ravioli, soup, ramen noodles, and poptarts. The Owensboro campus hopes to continue to support local children and families through the local Family Resource Center.
For more information on how you can donate to school Family Resource Centers, contact your local Board of Education.