College hosts inaugural day of service
Kalamazoo, Mich.—The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) held the first annual CEHD Cares Day, a day of service to the fields the college prepares professionals to work in, on November 17, 2022. CEHD faculty members, professors and students volunteered their time and made donations to make the inaugural event a huge success. Eleven groups in total participated in the event impacting children in need, teachers, hospital workers and more.
Several groups volunteered as substitute teachers at local schools. Dr. Regena Nelson and alumna and evaluator for the Urban Teacher Residency Program (UTRP), Xin Li, volunteered at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary in Benton Harbor Area Schools. “It was a wonderful day!” shared Dr. Nelson, “We will definitely do it again.” They left a WMU pendant for the classrooms they subbed in and gave each child a goody bag with a WMU sticker and pencil and a snack. Dr. Susan Piazza and various other WMU faculty volunteered at Gerald R. Ford Elementary in the Grand Rapids Public Schools and doctoral student Katherine Suender and her husband, Dr. John Wallace, volunteered at Parkwood Upjohn Elementary in the Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS). Parkwood Upjohn Elementary, a school that hosts a majority of CEHD’s pre-intern teachers, also enjoyed a redecoration of the school’s teacher’s lounge that included a major cleaning of their current space, wall décor and new furniture courtesy of CEHD advisors. Additionally, several alumni teachers at El Sol Elementary in KPS, the Director of Special Education at KPS, and a professor at Kalamazoo Valley Community College were surprised during the day with gifts of appreciation from CEHD faculty and staff.
The Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) at WMU held a Pack-a Backpack drive to provide warm weather clothing to local children for the winter season. “AEM chose to support our local schools with a Pack-a-Backpack drive because we are passionate about our community and the students we aspire to teach!” shared Collin Holzberger, the president of AEM. “We specifically reached out to schools that traditionally get overlooked during events like this because we wanted to ensure we are supporting as many students as possible during the WMU Cares event.”
The Merchandising Opportunities and Design Association (MODA) hand-made blankets for local school districts. “One of MODA’s top goals for this year is to give back and be more involved in the Kalamazoo/Portage community. MODA is already planning another community service project for later this year - a winter coat drive. The club’s fashion shows were originally founded with the intent of raising money for a charitable organization- our first fashion show being for breast cancer. MODA believes in creating change from our own backyard and we were so excited to be a part of CEHD Cares Day,” said Moira Aine Burns, president of MODA.
Faculty member Karin Rourke and child life students hand delivered goodies and treats to hospital workers in Grand Rapids and the CEHD Administrative Council collected donations of items requested by each district in Kalamazoo County and filled boxes that they hand delivered to the districts. Finally, two sessions of CEHD First Year Experience (FYE) courses participated in Hats for Hope and volunteered at the Turkey Trot in honor of CEHD Cares Day.
You can still help make an impact in our local schools by fulfilling wish list items that can be found on the CEHD Cares Day webpage.