Saturday, August 21, 1999
'School' for needy students
Wish lists displayed, but few results
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — The little red schoolhouse in the middle of Towne Mall is not for learning ABCs, but teaches ways to help needy children in Butler and Warren counties get ready for the start of school.
The schoolhouse is there to spotlight the “Towne Mall School of Hope,” a new program similar to the “giving trees” found at many businesses at Christmas.
Bright red and green paper apples hanging on silk trees next to the schoolhouse list a child's age and items needed — mostly essentials such as shoes, socks, underwear, jeans, shirts, backpacks and school supplies.
Shoppers admire the bright red building in center court, decorated with pictures of children, scissors, notebooks, crayons, pens and pencils. But many think it's just a colorful back-to-school decoration, and don't notice the sign explain ing the program.
The sign asks shoppers to pick an apple off the tree, purchase the needed items, attach the apple to the bag andreturn the gifts to the schoolhouse, which was lent to the mall by Middletown/Monroe Community Education, said Dee Florence, mall secretary.
George Parshall, of West Middletown, sat a few feet from the schoolhouse one recent day.
“I saw the setup but didn't know what it was all about,” Mr. Parshall said. “It sounds good. Anytime you can help the needy, it's great.”
The schoolhouse will be moved to another section of the mall to try to attract more attention, Mrs. Florence said.
“This is our first year to try the program, and it's been pretty slow,” she said. “People move too fast, and often they don't notice these things.”
Packages for fewer than a dozen children have been turned in, but Mrs. Florence is optimistic that as word spreads more people will open their hearts as they do during the holidays. The program has been extended through Sept. 6 so more children can be helped.
“If we can just get a few more children provided for, it will be worth it,” she said.
Mall employees will distribute the gifts to Middletown Salvation Army, Franklin Community Service Agency and Warren County Children's Services. Those agencies screened the families for eligibility then provided the list of about 100 names, Mrs. Florence said.
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