Every penny counts

LPS students raise more than $2,000 for new playground project through school-wide coin drive

Loveland, Oh. – Loveland Primary School (LPS) students learned every penny really does count during a January coin drive fundraiser to help raise money for a new LPS playground.

“This is a building-wide initiative, and this particular activity was a great way to turn change into – well – change,” said LPS Principal Kevin Fancher. “Our building playground needs to be all-inclusive to serve all of the students who attend our school; that is the very real change we need to see. And, the reality is that every penny does count in this project. This was a great learning opportunity for our students.”

LPS students raised a total of $2,066.52 with 100 percent of the proceeds to benefit the playground project. The goal is to raise a total of $200,000 to cover the cost of the playground. LPS teachers kicked off the fundraising initiative by contributing $1,253 during the kickoff in November. To date, LPS has raised a total of $7,334.52 toward the goal, that’s including the amount raised during the student coin drive.

“To add some fun to the event we created a boys versus girls competition,” said Fancher. “The boys brought in the most money raising $1,102.51, earning those students the right to be pirates (wear an eye patch) and watch a special video. Every student had fun.”

Parents’ Night Out will help build the new Primary School playground

Read HERE about how you too can volunteer or contribute to The Primary Playground Project

Loveland Magazine is a sponsor of The Primary Playground Project

Ultimate winner would be Warm Welcomes Foster Care Outreach

LECC staff members cook up a contest to support Warm Welcomes Foster Care Outreach – a nonprofit providing welcome bags to children entering foster care

Loveland, Ohio – Crock pots stood at attention along a couple of tables in the Loveland Early Childcare Center (LECC) staff break room Wednesday, Feb. 25; it was the Third Annual LECC Chili Contest and this year the competition was stiff. A dozen employees participated in the contest and some 50 people were on hand to support the chefs – in part because they all knew the ultimate winner would be Warm Welcomes Foster Care Outreach, a nonprofit established to create welcome bags for children entering foster care.

“This nonprofit was started by Krista Lorenz, an occupational therapist with Warren County Educational Service Center who provided services to LECC students last school year,” said LECC Principal Kyle Bush. “Every year for the past several years, LECC has had a staff chili cook-off fundraiser, and the proceeds have always been donated to a worthy cause. This year, we wanted to help support Krista’s mission.”

Each welcome bag Warm Welcomes Foster Care Outreach distributes typically contains a new blanket, new stuffed animal/snuggle pillow, new book, toiletries, a puzzle, creative items like journals, colored pencils and coloring books. The LECC staff raised more than $200 to donate.

“This is just one more avenue that allows us to give back,” said Bush. “I’m so proud to work with a staff that is dedicated to service. This is a special place.”

Hopes more than anything her students see the value in reusing materials like textbooks that are very much needed by the students in Namibia

Loveland, Oh. – Loveland Middle School (LMS) has partnered with Kamanjab Combined School in Namibia, Africa, to donate LMS math textbooks that are no longer being used. The donation idea originated from a trip LMS Teacher Carol Huxhold took to Namibia to visit her daughter who is working there with the Peace Corps.

“My daughter has been teaching English as a foreign language to students in grades five, six, seven and eight in Kamanjab, Namibia for nearly two years,” said Huxhold. “Through her I found out the students there were in need of textbooks, and due to our new math curriculum the LMS textbooks were no longer being used. I suggested the idea to Mr. Burke who fully supported the donation.”

Huxhold has incorporated the donation as a way to also teach her students at LMS.

“With regard to the textbooks, students have helped to count the books and figure out how many boxes we would need to ship the books,” said Huxhold. “I have also created multi-cultural lessons for my students from my own experience of traveling to Namibia to visit my daughter. A number of our LMS students are now e-mail pals with some of my daughter’s students. This provides students with a meaningful purpose for writing, plus they get to learn about another culture by communicating with someone in another country.”

Huxhold said she hopes more than anything her students see the value in reusing materials like textbooks that are very much needed by the students in Namibia.

“There are approximately five different languages spoken by the students in Namibia, however, all their content courses are taught in English. Having math textbooks in English will help reinforce learning the language. Finally, by providing these resources to the teachers they will be able to provide better instruction for their students and in turn improve their lives for the future.”

Huxhold is currently working to raise money to cover the textbook shipping cost. You can donate Monday, see a photo of the school and some of the children at the school by visiting http://www.gofundme.com/mni8qc.