Tobin’s Commitment to Community Service

As we deliver all the creations from our 17th Annual Natick Tobin Family Volunteer Fair here on Saturday, November 5, 2022, it’s a great time to share our mission as it relates to community service and young children. While young children are notoriously self-focused, they are also strongly influenced by the adults around them. One of our main goals as early childhood 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. This year students, families, and Tobin staff have–and will–collect used clothing for Cradles to Crayons, support children in need through the Natick Service Council’s Holiday Gift Drive, collect coats for kids and families for Anton’s Coats for Kids, make and sell blue & yellow bracelets to support organizations in Ukraine, support Family Promise Metrowest through their annual Walk to Wipe Out Homelessness, share birthday party supplies and goodies for children through our birthday boxes, and more!

It’s also 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. We were finally able to return to an in-person Family Volunteer Fair this year and it was a wonderful morning of community and service on our campus. Here is what we accomplished at this year’s Fair:

• Over 170 people participated!
• We decorated and filled 57 snack bags for children who arrive with their parents to ‘shop’ at A Place to Turn Food Pantry
• We collected food and gift card donations for 12 large Thanksgiving Feasts for families served by Family Promise Metrowest
• We decorated 12 large cardboard boxes to pack and deliver our Thanksgiving Feasts
• We created 43 colorful placemats for senior citizens to be delivered in both Natick and Holliston
• We mixed, rolled, cut, and baked over 100 dog biscuits for the Buddy Dog Humane Society
• We tied 3 large and 2 small fleece mats for animals served at the Baypath Humane Society.
• Through our face painting and balloon animal efforts, we raised $81.00 for the Natick Service Council (Thanks so much to Nicole, Aimee, and Joy!)
• Our snack and pizza stand raised $154.75 for cancer research with Alex’s Lemonade Stand
• We collected lots of gently used children’s clothes to support Cradles to Crayons
• And we all had the chance to help others while enjoying a beautiful fall day here at Tobin!!!!

Admittedly, 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.