Sam’s Club representatives see first hand the benefits of program

Staff report

Youngstown

With cupcakes in hand, Rachel Bell and Kathy Stinson of the Boardman Sam’s Club visited Millcreek Children’s Center to learn more about the school and to meet the students that their business is helping prepare for a better life.

MCC applied for funding from the Walmart Foundation’s Local Community Contribution Program, and upon receiving the grant invited representatives from the Boardman Sam’s Club to see what happens inside the center on a daily basis.

During the visit, students enjoyed the sweet treats donated by Sam’s Club, and then treated Bell, Sam’s Club assistant manager, and Stinson to a tap-dance performance.

“We think it’s important to give back to the community we serve,” said Stinson, who is the marketing supervisor of the Boardman wholesale-club location.

The $2,000 in grant funds will help Millcreek Children’s Center provide speech therapy to students in need of special assistance. Students at the center are screened by a professional speech-language pathologist, and those in need receive individualized therapy sessions that work to remedy speech issues.

“This assistance from Sam’s Club for speech therapy is greatly needed in early-childhood education,” said Mary Danus, MCC education director. “If speech deficiencies are not reconciled in developmental years, there is potential for long-term difficulty. Our Center works to fully prepare inner-city students for kindergarten and future academics, and appropriate speech development is a key part of their readiness.”

MCC offers high-quality preschool education programs to children of low-income working parents, and partnering with local businesses allows the Center to continue fulfilling its mission.

“We are graduating students that will have greater potential to succeed academically and then become trained, educated individuals and productive citizens in the future,” said Patricia Sweeney, MCC executive director.

“A quality early-childhood education leads to a better trained workforce for current and future local business owners. We thank the Boardman Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation for the generosity and realizing the importance of providing a high-quality preschool education to some of our city’s most vulnerable children.”