Hamline + Community = Love

Illustration left: A little under three years ago Hamline Elementary began work to be more visible in the neighborhood. During the process Karen McCauley began creating a map to represent what were the greatest strengths in the community. (Image provided)

By JESSICA KOPP

In the process of making something amazing at Hamline Elementary, here’s one thing we know to be true: a school is more than a building—it’s a living thing, an ecosystem full of people and possibility. And for all the learning and connection that happens within its walls, it’s that learning and connection that happens beyond that gives it that extra dose of awesome. It’s about seeing and being seen by your community. It’s about giving and receiving support. It’s about love.

Because our community partners and neighbors help us create this dynamic, beautiful thing every day, we’d like to thank them for it.

Thank you:

• Hamline Midway Elders, for visiting and reading with our third graders every month

• Reading Partners and your team of volunteers for daily, awesome support of Hamline readers

• NeighborWorks Home Partners, for sharing resources with our families and partnering with us to host a homeownership workshop at the school

• St. Paul Tool Library, for building a beautiful book collection box and for donating two-year-long memberships for a drawing at our recent homeownership workshop

• Children’s Book Express, for helping us set up a book-sharing program that has collected and made available over 500 books for families to choose for their home libraries

• Hamline Church, for organizing another bread-making and baking experience this year, supporting last fall’s fence-weaving project, making regular donations to our family resource room, and partnering with us to provide weekend meals to families through Sheridan Story

• Sheridan Story, for helping us support over 40 families with weekend meals

• Greg’s PC Repair, for being the first neighborhood business to provide services during school hours in our family resource room

• Hancock Recreation Center, for collaboration on community events and general awesomeness

• The Hamline to Hamline Collaboration, for the tutors, the mentors, the programs, the pairings, the special events, the mini-grants, and the leadership team that keeps it all running

• Hamline University, for sharing your campus, expertise, passion, and people with us every day

• Midway Public Art Working Group, for all the work going into this spring’s Paint the Pavement project on the school’s basketball court and this summer’s Snelling Ave. mural

• The Hamline Midway Coalition, for your support of last year’s fence-weaving project

• Midway Men’s Club, for your support of last year’s fence-weaving project

• Neighbors, who donated and helped us fill over 40 backpacks in the last year, made donations to our family resource room, dropped off pre-loved books, and celebrated with us at the Fall Festival

• Whomever I forgot, know that you matter to someone in our school community

New partnerships on the way, we can’t wait for you to get here.