44.1 F
Indianapolis
Thursday, March 28, 2024

PNC brings preschoolers an early Christmas

More by this author

What seemed like an average summer day at preschool became a special event for the children at Edna Martin Childcare Ministry. On June 25, they returned from a nap to find a group of jolly-looking PNC Financial Service employees in blue Santa hats with white trim. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Grow Up Great, PNC’s initiative to support early childhood education, the employees visited the preschool with gifts.

 “We are just so appreciative to PNC in terms of all the work they have done to ensure children and families have what they need,” Tysha Hardy-Sellers, executive director of the Edna Martin Christian Center, said.

To begin the festivities, a PNC volunteer told the children Santa sent her to deliver some presents early. The presents were new picture books and winter clothing for the preschoolers to take home. To get them excited about the books, Connie Bond Stuart, PNC regional president for Central and Southern Indiana, read the preschoolers a “Clifford the Big Red Dog” picture book. Then the children happily dispersed to different stations to pick up their new books and clothing. Despite being a hot summer day, the preschoolers smiled as they ran around in warm hats and scarves while clutching their new books.

“The kids are having a ball,” Alexandra Hall, director of the Edna Martin Childcare Ministry, said. “They love Christmas. It’s such a bright and fun time around here. Typically, it comes once a year, but this year we were fortunate enough for Christmas to come twice.”

While summer might seem like a strange time to donate winter clothing, volunteers wanted to ensure the children were prepared for the fall and winter. Instead of possibly toughing through cold days until someone donates a coat, all Edna Martin preschoolers would be ready as soon as the cold comes.

The book donation will be helpful for the students year-round because early reading can increase a child’s vocabulary and improve their ability to process information. Hall said many of her students do not have access to reading material at home, so she appreciates the book donations.

“Cultivating a love and passion for reading is essential at such a young age,” Hall said. “It sets a starting point for students as they are going forward in their educational careers. It also helps them to develop language skills and cultivate early literacy.”

In addition to Edna Martin, the PNC volunteers also donated gifts to Teachers’ Treasures, the IUPUI Center for Young Children and Hendricks County Head Start to celebrate the anniversary of Grow Up Great. Stuart said PNC continues the $500 million initiative supporting preschools because such schools are an important part of early childhood development that does not get enough attention. She noted how preschools can instill students with skillsets such as good listening that can last throughout and beyond their educational career. 

“There’s a big difference between those kids which are exposed to high quality early learning experiences and those that aren’t, and that impacts their confidence when they get into school,” Stuart said. “We would like to see every one of these kids in a position where they can compete.”

Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminLashar.



<p src=


<p src=

- Advertisement -

Upcoming Online Townhalls

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest local news.

Stay connected

1FansLike
1FollowersFollow
1FollowersFollow
1SubscribersSubscribe

Related articles

Popular articles

Español + Translate »
Skip to content