Children from the University of Michigan-Flint’s early childhood community programs will benefit from a campus-wide holiday donation drive organized by the Human Resources Department.
Each year the department adopts a family for the holidays, and this year they chose the university’s early childhood community programs to provide much-needed classroom learning and art supplies.
Children from the Early Childhood Development Center visited the UM-Flint Human Resources office this week.
The Early Childhood Development Center, and Great Expectations programs at Holmes STEM Academy and Cummings School in Flint will benefit from this donation drive. Most of their program funding is provided through various grants, which are necessary and greatly appreciated. However, the funds are limited for the supplies that the teachers need to provide creative learning experiences to the children. Many teachers are spending their own money on supplies without reimbursement.
“There couldn’t be a better way to impact families affected by the water crisis than to adopt the early childhood programs,” said Tonja Petrella, UM-Flint HR generalist senior. “This way we will be able to touch a lot more families than if we had adopted one family. The response so far has been overwhelming.”
Human Resources staff enjoy the beautiful artwork that the ECDC children made for their office.
Artwork created by the children in the Early Childhood Development Center is currently on display in the HR Office. Recently the children visited the office to view their finished artistic creations and received holiday goody bags from office staff members.
The donation drive is timely, following a recent expansion of the School of Education and Human Services’ early childhood programs this year, an initiative made possible through partnerships with Flint Community Schools and many local foundations and organizations. These research-based programs apply holistic teaching and learning methods that emphasize creativity, exploration, play, and well-rounded child development practices.
ECDC staff and children visited the HR office to see their art on display.
How to Donate
The UM-Flint Human Resources office is taking monetary donations as well as new or gently used items until December 19 in their office located on the second floor of the University Pavilion at the corner of Kearsley and South Saginaw streets in Flint. Individuals and businesses are encouraged to participate and support these important programs that directly impact the children in Flint.
Wish List for UM-Flint Early Childhood Programs
Gift cards for art supplies, any art materials, scrapbook paper, rocks, stones, sequins, dry erase markers, sharpies, picture frames, jars, tins, baskets, gems and jewels, wood scraps, children’s books, Matchbox cars, flashlights, baby dolls and doll items, dress-up clothes, nature items, beads, musical instruments, dramatic play items, stamps and stamp pads, Legos, Clorox wipes, different textured fabrics and scarves, bubble wrap, hand lotion, wash cloths, Voss water bottles, Johnson baby oil, polyester ribbon, and LR44 1.5V batteries.
HR staff thanked the children for sharing their creativity and joy.