Tobin’s Commitment to Community Service
As we prepare for our 18th Annual Natick Tobin Family Volunteer Fair here on our Natick Campus on Saturday, November 4, 2023, it’s a great time to share Tobin’s mission as it relates to community service in our work with children. While young children are notoriously self-focused, they are also strongly influenced by the adults around them. One of our main goals as educators is to grow caring children. That’s why we believe in offering opportunities for children to help and impact others and make a difference in their world.
At Tobin we do this by encouraging prosocial behavior in all our interactions, including social emotional curriculum in all age groups, by participating in class and school-wide efforts to recognize kind actions, and by making child-friendly community service activities a year-round focus of our curriculum. Each year students, families, and Tobin staff will support a variety of projects and efforts to help those in need, both in our local area and around the world. In previous years, we collected used clothing for Cradles to Crayons, supported children in need through the Natick Service Council’s Holiday Gift Drive, ran a Tobin Afterschool Walk-a-Thon to support the Natick Service Council, made and sold blue & yellow bracelets to support organizations in Ukraine, supported Family Promise Metrowest through their annual Walk to Wipe Out Homelessness, shared birthday party supplies and goodies for children through our birthday boxes, and more!
This is at the heart of what our Annual Family Volunteer Fair is all about. It’s an opportunity for parents, teachers, and children to work together on projects and activities that help others, both in our community and around the world. By working alongside our children, we are setting an example and starting a conversation. This year’s event, taking place on Saturday, November 4, 2023 on our Natick campus, will include the following projects:
Accepting donations of gently used coats for children and adults for the Coats for Kids & Families program- Decorating and filling snack bags for children who arrive with their parents to ‘shop’ at A Place to Turn Food Pantry
- Collecting food and gift card donations to pack 10 large Thanksgiving Feasts for families served by Family Promise Metrowest
- Decorating 10 large cardboard boxes to pack and deliver these Thanksgiving Feasts
- Accepting donations for and running a used book sale (children’s and adult titles accepted) to support World Center Kitchen
- Mixing, rolling, cutting, and baking dog biscuits for the Buddy Dog Humane Society
- Tying small fleece mats for animals served at the Baypath Humane Society
- Offering face painting with proceeds to support World Central Kitchen
- Running our snack and pizza lunch stand for cancer research with Alex’s Lemonade Stand
- Filling Instant Oatmeal Jars for families served by the Natick Service Council Food Pantry
- Coloring pictures and writing thank you notes to our troops through Operation Gratitude
- And enjoying a beautiful fall day together here at Tobin!!!!
Our volunteer fair is not just about the finished product. Our goal is to start a conversation with our children. By showing them how we give back, we are actively teaching empathy. And by involving children in this process, we empower them to not only help, but also to feel comfortable giving back. The goal is to help them grow into members of society who are giving, caring, and loving adults.
We’d love to share more about our commitment to community service here at Tobin! Contact us today to learn more.