Jackson Heights students and teachers got a big boost of “love” through the North Country Subaru Loves Learning event, which included notes of support and a donation of $10,000 for classroom materials!
“This is the most generous classroom donation I’ve received in my 30 years of teaching,” says first grade teacher Patty Parmelee, who was able to get magnetic whiteboards, number balances, and geometric blocks for every child in her class.
Music teacher Sabrina LaPointe got small instruments, puppets, a puppet tree, and music books with her donated funds. “It was such a kind donation and will be put to VERY good use,” notes Ms. LaPointe.
The funding allowed for the purchase of many other classroom items across the K-4 grade levels, including flexible seating equipment, organizers, and books, books, books!
The large donation touched nearly all areas of the Jackson Heights educational experience, including support for kids visiting the school psychologist and social worker. “We were able to purchase big buckets of Legos, posters that describe feelings and mindfulness, social skills board games, and empathy discussion cards,” says school psychologist Sabrina Columbus. “These items all support our Social-Emotional Learning initiatives, or SEL.”
“Since 2015, Subaru has collaborated with organizations like AdoptAClassroom.org to provide educational supplies for students,” says North Country Subaru’s Zachary Haas. “This year, North Country Subaru partnered with Jackson Heights School to help students start the year off on the right foot.”
Mr. Haas and North Country Subaru co-owner Eric Lendrum visited Jackson Heights elementary just days into the new school year to deliver a poster with encouraging messages — and received thank-you letters written by students.
“The letters from the kids are great,” says Mr. Haas. “We will probably display them in our showroom for a bit, because it was great to hear how the donations impacted the teachers and the students!”
