MANSFIELD, PA—After a month of collecting donations, students in the Mansfield University chapters of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association (SPSEA) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) have packed up the supplies they collected to be shipped to Craven’s Academy in Houston, TX. The MU student organizations adopted the school in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
“It’s just so cool that we can help all these kids in need,” Rebecca Davis, CEC President, said. “It just gives us a sense of joy and accomplishment and help people that need it.”
Many schools in the hurricane zone were left with damage to their classrooms, resources and school supplies. Many schools were left without a place to teach their students and little or no supplies to do so. In an effort to ease their transition back into normalcy, SPSEA and CEC joined in on a campaign organized by TexasTeachers.org
“It was great to see the campus and the community respond,” Hannah Swartwood, SPSEA president, said. “To know that we are helping teachers and students get back on their feet and back to normal is very gratifying.”
Swartwood and Davis say the Mansfield University Nursing Association, St. James Episcopal Church and Holy Child Catholic Church all deserve special thanks for their assistance in the effort.
A wide variety of supplies including backpacks, crayons, leveled readers, markers, construction paper, blunt scissors, glue sticks, copy paper, pencils, big pink erasers, colored pencils, manipulatives, calendars and décor for bulletin boards, whiteboard markers, Duplo Legos, handwriting notebooks, Kleenex, hand sanitizers, clear pencil bags, toiletries and non-perishable classroom snacks were shipped to Texas.
Assistant Professor Michele Moore is advisor to CEC. Assistant Professor Rebecca Parks advises SPSEA.
To find out more about studying Education and Special Education at Mansfield, go to mansfield.edu/edspeced/