ECDC staff and children presented thank-you cards and homemade artwork to the HR staff.
Staff at the University of Michigan-Flint Early Childhood Development Center recently accepted boxes and bags stuffed with donated supplies from the UM-Flint Human Resources Department.
Early childhood center staff will gladly put to use the many art supplies, scrapbook paper, and various household items great for dramatic play activities. Also in the mix were party supplies for preschool graduation, backpacks, picture frames, wrapping paper, child-sized chairs, and coats for kids in need of warm winter outerwear.
The items were gathered during a campus-wide holiday donation drive and beyond, and they will be used for various creative and educational activities throughout the early childhood community programs of the School of Education and Human Services. These programs include the ECDC and Great Expectations at Holmes and Cummings schools.
Kids created cards, paintings and glass pots to say thanks.
Supplies and cash donations of more than $600 were collected from UM-Flint staff and their families and community members. Several of the ECDC children created thank-you cards, framed artwork, and painted glass pots filled with planted succulents, and gave them to HR staff members and others who donated.
“It helps the classrooms because we can’t go out and buy stuff like this,” said Joslyn Marinelli, interim site director at the ECDC. “We appreciate all the time and work the HR staff put into organizing this. They went above and beyond to get the kinds of things we would use.”
The drive was so successful, university organizers would like to keep it going.
The HR Department has connected with the HR departments at Dearborn and U-M Ann Arbor to continue to collect donations for these early childhood community programs. The items are used for diverse educational and enrichment activities. Program leaders say that donated winter coats, hats, and mittens are also helpful as some children do not have enough warm clothes, and the children go outside every day as part of their daily routine.
Anyone interested in donating items for the UM-Flint early childhood community programs at the ECDC and Great Expectations-Holmes and Cummings may contact the UM-Flint HR Department at 810-762-3150.