The month of December found us, once again, collecting food items for St. Stephens Community Center to make food baskets to distribute to those in need in the Columbus area. As always, our families are so generous in answering our request to help those who can not always help themselves. St. Stephens is sincerely grateful to the families of Dublin Montessori for their continued support to answer their plea for contributions. Thank you to all for your goodness, kind and generous hearts.
Our final community service for this school year, which was held in April, finds us helping stock the shelves at the Cozy Cat Cottage, located right down the street from the school! For years, Mrs. Bennett and her family have been actively involved in volunteering at this shelter that provides refuge and medical care to abandoned and abused cats and kittens. The shelter is committed and dedicated to the care of homeless cats of all ages while attempting to find permanent, responsible, loving homes for each of them. Thank you to our families, we were able to deliver the much needed, cat and kitten foods, litter, liquid KMR (milk replacement) paper towels and trash bags. So, if you are thinking about getting a kitten or a cat, please be sure to visit the Cozy Cat Cottage first!! You’ll find them at 10344 Sawmill Road, Powell, Ohio. Call ahead for the hours of operation!
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Community Service Projects 2022-2023
With the fog of COVID lifting, we are happy to be able to resume committing to community service projects. Each classroom chooses a community service project for the school to participate in. Our parents are always so supportive and willing to give generously. Such was the case of our first project. Miss Sheidler, Classroom One, competed in the Columbus Marathon raising donations for Nationwide Children’s’ Hospital. With our parents’ generosity in giving, she raised over a thousand dollars for the cause. On a side note…. she achieved a personal goal by completing the marathon in 3 hours 47 minutes, and 6 seconds, which qualified her for the Boston Marathon in 2024. We are so proud and happy for her, and extremely grateful to our families for their generous support in this very worthwhile cause. Thank you to all! May 2019
We ended the year with two wonderful community service projects. In March, we sponsored a book collection for National Children's Hospital's "Reach Out and Read Program". Our goal was to donate 200 new or slightly used boos to this organization....and as usual the families at Dublin Montessori Academy surpassed this goal by leaps and bounds! Our children counted (numerous times!) book after book, sorted and boxed them (over 300 books!) The children saw some of their favorite books going out the door knowing that they were going to be put in the hands of ill children. They felt as if they were distributing a bit of happiness and sunshine to others. The last community service of this year was held in May. It corresponded with the visit from the Ohio Wildlife Center educating our children on the care of injured wild animals. This is a wonderful educational program and I encourage everyone to visit the center to see the volunteer work this organization does to preserve animal life, restore injured animals so they can be released back into the wild. The center is located at 6131 Cook Road in Powell. Their needs are many, the wish list ranged from newspapers to medicine; paper towels to blankets; cages and crates to bird seed; and from detergent to examination gloves! The children enjoyed bringing in the products as they could truly relate to the needs of taking care of injured animals. When OWC left our school, their van was loaded with a tremendous assortment of needed items. They were able to cross many things off their wish list. However, they are always in need. So before you throw out those old towels or blankets, cages aquariums or crates, think about dropping them off at the center. The hospital address is 2661 Billingsly Road, Columbus, Ohio - right off of Sawmill Road. The staff at Dublin Montessori are truly grateful to our families for being so willing to support our efforts in helping our children understand the importance of giving back to the community to those many worthwhile organizations. There truly are so many different opportunities to give back....there is something of interest for everyone! Every bit helps! Thank you!!! This school year finds us repeating some very worthwhile community projects. On Saturday, December 8th Ms. Sheidler, once again, suited up to participate in the One Warm Coat 4 Mile & 2 Mile Run/Walk by Mt. Carmel Lewis Center for One Warm Coat. “Everyone Should Have One Warm Coat”. With the generous support of our families, she was able to unload her car with bags and bags of donated coats, scarves blankets and gloves; and she crossed the finish line in record time! Our sincere gratitude to all our families who participated to help make this such a success.
In December, we also carried on the tradition of collecting food items for St. Stephen’s Community Center. The donations were collected to make Christmas food baskets to be distributed to those in the community. Once again, our families opened their cupboards and pantries to those less fortunate. Our hallway was filled to the brim with needed canned goods and non-perishable food items. St. Stephen’s is always so appreciated of our support as they extend a heartfelt letter of gratitude to our school’s families’ generosity and giving spirit. Our children learn much from this experience. It is difficult for them to understand that some children, even in our community, are hungry and lack a good breakfast, lunch or dinner. Thank you families for helping to fill the baskets and a child’s empty stomach. With the turn of the calendar and into 2019…..Mrs. Hogue and Mrs. Bennett’s class coordinated a collection of “Go-Bags” to donate to the Shelter at Worthington United Way. The goal was to fill 100 – 2 gallon bags with items such as; socks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, wash cloths, hand warmers, water, nutritional snacks and chap stick. Each bag was filled in excess and the extra donated items were given to the shelter to help restock their shelves. The students made special notes to put in each bag and it truly was a hands on experience with the children stuffing each bag with all the wonderful, so needed items. They soon understood that not all people have the simple necessities of life – water, warm socks and warm hands. Thank you to our wonderful families for making this such a rewarding project – in more ways than one! You are terrific! The first month of school gave us the perfect opportunity to begin our community service projects. With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma taking their toll in Texas and Florida, the American Montessori Society (AMS) created a “Rebuild Your School” campaign to help Montessori schools in need in the affected areas. The funds collected in the campaign were matched by AMS and additional funds donated by Nienhuis Montessori (a Montessori materials company). We talked to our children about the hurricanes and how we can help other Montessori schools in need by collecting coins. This was a wonderful opportunity to spread peace and kindness through the community. Our children loved bringing in their coins and with the help of some very generous parents our final tally amounted to $600.00.
So, as always, thank you Dublin Montessori families, for opening the piggy banks, the extra change from your cup of coffee and the loose change in your pockets! You really made a difference! December found us again renewing our promise to St. Stephens Community Center. The collection of can goods and food products helped supply the needs for the food baskets which are distributed through out the community. For those family who find themselves with less and less this time of year. The foyer was overflowing with food donations. St. Stephens is very grateful to the families of Dublin Montessori for their boundless spirit of giving. Also in December, on a very cold Saturday, Miss Sheidler (our in house marathon runner) registered for the Mt. Carmel Lewis Center four mile run to support One Warm Coat. Again, it was not only Miss Sheidler who easily crossed the finish line successfully, but all our wonderful families who donated gently used coats, hats, mittens and scarves to this well known organization. She collected and delivered several large bags of warm, usable, outerwear to be distributed as needed in the community. Again, thank you!! Welcome to another great school year. It is our wish each year to introduce the children to the concept of giving to others, especially those going through rough times. Whether it be through food drives, care packages for sick children or raising money for charities, we love watching the children find the joy one feels when they are being of service to others. With this in mind, our first project of the 2016-2017 school year was a fundraiser for ALS.
This was very near and dear to our hearts as one of our well loved, former teacher’s family member is stricken with this debilitating disease. The children attended our school as well. The husband/father was diagnosed with ALS in December 2014 and the family is taking each day at a time. Their faith is unrelenting and their positive outlook on life is a miracle in itself. Our children brought in their “spare change” as a donation while Ms. Sheidler dedicated her run in the New York Marathon in honor of this family and the charity. As usual, our families were very generous in supporting this undertaking and the results were very generous contributions. It was a win win situation. Christmas brought us around to our usual collection of food for St. Stephens. This year the request was for donations for the food baskets that St. Stephens prepares for distribution to the community the week of December 19th. The people at St. Stephens are always so amazed at the quantity of food that comes from Dublin Montessori! Once again, our families reaching out to others in need. April and May 2016
During the month of April in anticipation of our visit from the Ohio Wildlife Center on May 13th, we collected items for Animal Care Unlimited. ACU works with The Ohio Wildlife Center to care for and rehabilitate injured and abandoned local wildlife with re-release into the wild as its goal. Once again, our families contributed so much in answering their "items most needed" wishes. In case you wish to donate a full list of need items can be found at www.ohiowildlifecenter.org. Speaking of donating.....our final community involvement for this school year is the arrival of the American Red Cross Bloodmobile on May 9th. Last year was our first year to sponsor a blood drive and with great success we experienced; we want to make it an annual event. So if you are so inclined and a candidate to donate, please sign up ad help us reach our goal of 30 units. You can schedule an appointment at: www.redcrossblood.org. Sponsor code: DMA. February 2016 The Valentine month found us connecting with Nationwide Children's Hospital making activity kits for the patients. Each of our students , all 108, got to place markers, crayons, stickers and activity booklets in a bag destined for a child in the hospital. Thank you to our families for providing the materials for the activity bags. You gave from your heart and your thoughtfulness made such a significant difference in the lives of children and families coping with serious health care issues. January 2016
Our December community project has stretched into January. We have chosen to support the Salvation Army in Worthington who goes out weekly to provide necessities to the homeless. Our families donated the much need toiletries, warm hats, socks and gloves, also protein and cereal bars. The children have sorted all the items bagging them and placing them in individual bags for distribution. The goal was to supply 50 bags for distribution; and we are happy to say that we met and surpassed that goal. Once again, we thank the generosity of our families…you are the greatest! December 2015 Today was the day that St. Stephens Community Center pulled up in their truck to collect all the canned goods, food stuff, baby food and formula that was again, so generously donated by our families. Their Christmas Cares/Unions Share distribution serviced approximately 3500 families December 19-23. Your donated items go to help making food baskets for those less fortunate in the Columbus area. We have been partnering with them for over 20 years. So thank you for improving our world by your kind and giving hearts. One tradition that we have had for many years is a food collection for St. Stephen’s Community House. The need this year is more dire than ever with emptyshelves in many food pantries around the UnitedStates. With our support, St. Stephen’s offers hope and encouragement to many families during the holiday season. They are truly grateful for ourdonations. Beginning December 1st through December 16th, your child can bring in any canned goods or unopened non-perishable food.
This is a wonderful way to show the children how their individual efforts can come together and affect somany! Requested food items include, but is not limited to: rice, pasta, tuna, cereals, dry baby cereal, formula, spaghetti sauce, soups, peanut butter & jelly, baby food, tuna, canned beans, canned vegetables, cake mixes, frosting, juice, fruit snacks, macaroni & cheese dinners. Gift cards to local grocers are always welcomed . Collection ends December 15th. Once again this year we are looking forward to participating in a variety of community service projects.
We are excited to start the new year continuing our relationship with Abbington Assisted Living Community. We will keep you informed of the activities and opportunities in the upcoming months. October 31, 2015 We would love to see the smiles on the children who got to pick out their very own Halloween costume! Thanks to our generous families who donated over 50 costumes and accessories. The children were able to go to the Welcome Warehouse and select from a variety of characters whether it be a dinosaur, princess, pirate, super hero, fire fighter or a police officer! Halloween is for the children and it is a very sad time if a youngster is not able to dress up and pretend! Your acts of kindness go a very long way to make a child’s life just a bit happier. Thank you! |
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