Book drive exceeds goal; backpacks for school kids priority now

May 29, 2007

Miami Hamilton donated 568 books to Jefferson Elementary School, exceeding the goal of 523 or one for every student at the Hamilton school.

“When I sent out the call for books, I was touched and inspired by the number of personal responses I received from staff, students and faculty alike who offered both good wishes and great books this past semester,” said Dr. Kelli Lyon Johnson, Assistant Professor of English who coordinated the Feed a Child’s Imagination program with Jefferson principal Mary Anne Hughes.

The Miami Hamilton community repeatedly demonstrates its care and concern for the Hamilton community, Johnson said.

“The response I received shows how deep and broad our support is for the students and teachers in Hamilton city schools. I am very proud to have a six-year-old daughter in Hamilton city schools, and I see in her experience how Miami University Hamilton, and other community organizations that care, make a difference in her education,” she said.

Johnson said she hopes that Miami Hamilton’s new partnership agreement with the Hamilton City School District will help make a difference in the lives of all children in the community.

“If you’d like to continue to support Jefferson Elementary, several of us will be working with them on a back-to-school readiness program for which we need backpacks for the children,” Johnson said. New or gently-used backpacks can be dropped off over the summer at the Student Services office in Rentschler Hall.

Jefferson school is located in the city’s Fourth Ward. Nearly all of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch and more than half of them are learning English as a second language.

Johnson said at many universities around the country, faculty members create a culture in which research is the most important part of their professional lives – more than teaching and more than service.

“I have found Miami Hamilton to be unusual and inspiring in its faculty and staff commitment to serving both our students and the community by teaching, working with, and connecting with local organizations to help the people who live where we live,” Johnson said.