Gabriels Community Credit Union Donates Supplies to Riddle Elementary School
For students, the first day of school can be very exciting; but for students at Riddle Elementary School in Lansing, the second day of school brought an extra dose of excitement.
Dan Dowsett, CEO, and Malissa Richardson, loan officer, of Gabriels Community Credit Union were on hand to present Principal Marilyn Early and her students with nearly 300 backpacks and supplies for the entire school year.
"When we started this project, our goal was to reach out to the community so we can give back, and we found a need at Riddle," said Dowsett. "I was thrilled by the response from our members and their generosity."
Dowsett explained at the presentation that he heard through the grapevine about the need at Riddle Elementary School, and Malissa [Richardson] ran with the idea.
"Gabriels Credit Union decided to buy the backpacks, and then we reached out to our members for donations. It's been about a three week process."
It is the first time that Gabriels Credit Union has done this type of donation, but it's something they hope grows and continues with each year.
Aside from the backpacks, each classroom was given a bag of supplies that ranged from boxes of crayons to hand sanitizers to tissues, and nine pencils per student.
As Principal Marilyn Early explained, students are typically provided with one pencil per month.
"We always need help. We want everyone on the same level to come to school prepared the same way. Sometimes you have kids that have so much more than others. So this leveled the playing field for the students."
Principal Early also added that the additional help at the beginning of the year will start all of the students off on the right foot.
"This is going to be a big boost for them. Hopefully they're prepared to do the work now and learn this year."
Those interested in donating additional supplies to Riddle Elementary School can contact Principal Early directly at 517-755-1721. She recommends contacting Malissa or Dan with Gabriels Credit Union for suggestions on the types of supplies to donate.
For Malissa and Dan, the hope is that their work sparks inspiration in the community to do similar things for local schools.
"Hopefully they see that we're helping, so everybody around the community will help out the schools, too. That's part of our goal," said Richardson.
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