Centerville Noon Optimist Club Supports Social and Emotional Learning with $5,000 Grant

The Centerville Noon Optimist Club is supporting the Classroom Solutions program with a $5,000 grant for the 2024-25 school year. Focusing on social and emotional learning (SEL) products such as pocket hugs, journals, and emotion sliders, their funding allows Crayons to Classrooms (C2C) to secure supplies for Classroom Solutions products such as paper, bags, staples, and die cuts. Last school year, C2C distributed over $191,500 in Classroom Solutions products to local teachers.

Approximately 86.5% of the students in C2C’s service area are identified as low-income. It is these students whose families are struggling the most, who may see school supplies as a “luxury” in the face of other financial burdens. The generosity of the Centerville Noon Optimist Club provides mental health tools and other necessary supplies for these local students in need.

“The population I serve is primarily low income, and students struggle to obtain the supplies necessary or have access to manipulatives in the classroom,” shares second grade Fairborn Primary teacher, Katrice Grusenmeyer. “The SEL options such as the [emotion] sliders and pocket hugs have really allowed me to implement social emotional regulation within the classroom.”

According to a recent survey, 95% of teachers believe that having access to a local Teacher Resource Center benefits the confidence levels of their students. The Centerville Noon Optimist Club recognizes that children’s mental health is a key issue that affects not only their personal life but their education as well.