Blood Drive at MCC-Maple Woods!

MCC-Maple Woods will be sponsoring a blood drive from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the Student Center. Cookies and juice will be provided, and all donors will be gven a free t-shirt and be entered to win one of 3 $50 gift cards. The Community Blood Center is really in need, so please consider donating!

Give a dead cell phone new life - donate to Cell Phones for Soldiers

If you've recently traded in your cell phone for a new model or have had a couple of old ones lying around for months, you can clear the clutter and help a great cause by donating to Cell Phones for Soldiers!

The MCC-Maple Woods chapter of Phi Theta Kappa will be collecting cell phones from now through March 3, 2011, for the non-profit organization. The old phones will be disassembled and sold for components, with all proceeds going toward the purchase of prepaid calling cards for soldiers stationed overseas.

MCC-Maple Woods students, faculty and staff get busy, dirty during “A Day On”

Crafting, cleaning, cooking, painting – faces and walls – and organizing were all a part of the amazing effort put forth by MCC-Maple Woods students, staff, faculty and administrators during MCC’s MLK Day of Service 2011.

More than 50 volunteers took to the Northland with six service projects to keep everyone busy.

The Student Center was home to craft central, where volunteers made fleece blankets and photo frames for the Northland Children’s Mercy residents. Several volunteers organized and helped unload items at Hillcrest Thrift Store, working the loading docks and helping to tag clothing and organize the larger items. The Hillcrest Transitional Housing facility in Liberty, Mo., got a fresh coat of paint and the food pantry at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church got scrubbed, stocked and organized. Students and staff hosted a carnival for residents of the Heritage Village Assisted Living facility – this is where the face/head painting comes in – and a another group hosted a lunch for residents at one of Synergy’s safe houses for victims of domestic violence.

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Maple Woods lives the MCC mission through charity and service

Preparing students, serving communities, creating opportunities. Those six words comprise MCC’s mission statement as it strives to educate more and more students in the Kansas City Metro area. The holiday season and new year afforded many challenges and opportunities to live MCC’s mission statement, and Maple Woods stepped up to the plate this year, with faculty, staff and students getting involved in the Northland.

Each year, MCC-Maple Woods adopts several students and their families for the holidays, providing food and gift items. This year, the campus was able to provide holiday trimmings for five students and their families, including two bags of groceries, three large boxes of gifts and wrapping supplies, and about $130 in gift cards. Maple Woods employees went above and beyond this year, providing enough gift cards and donations to adopt another 3 families in addition to the others. The number of students the campus has been able to adopt has gone up each of the last three years, even though financial situations have been tough.

MCC-Maple Woods students took the lead in several projects serving the Northland community – from picking up trash to volunteering at neighborhood charity organizations to supporting other students and their families.

Members of the women’s soccer team, along with the Northland Sports Alliance, participated in the BackSnack program just before the holidays as well. The program provides backpacks full of food to students who qualify for the free and reduced lunches offered by the school districts. Soccer team members helped Harvesters pack donated backpacks full of food to distribute to children at risk of going hungry.

Students became involved in community projects even in spite of rough weather conditions: Alice Zvacek, Samantha Nolker, Kayla Fleshman and Steve Barber, all members of the Upsilon Xi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society for two-year institutions, braved icy cold weather to clean up trash on Highway 152 near the campus.

Along with the students, MCC-Maple Woods employees are undertaking the challenge to support local organizations. The Maple Woods Fitness Center has held several “boot camp” fundraisers throughout the semester to benefit local organizations such as the Northland Therapeutic Riding Center, Synergy Services, and the United Way. Boot camps were also held to raise cash for causes including breast cancer awareness, child abuse prevention and the Special Olympics.

In addition to campus-wide, group and individual efforts throughout the last semester, MCC-Maple Woods students and employees will once again participate in the MLK Day of Service on Jan. 17, 2011. Maple Woods continues to live MCC’s mission by preparing students, both civically and academically, serving communities through hard work and creating opportunities for Northland families and organizations.

Eagle Scout clears stretch of historic trail at MCC-Maple Woods

Few people may recognize the busy Missouri Highway 152 as anything other than a stretch of pavement, but thanks to MCC-Maple Woods student Matt Cieropoit, visitors to the Maple Woods campus have the opportunity to learn about the original highway across the Northland.

The Barry Trail, which runs in a path almost parallel to Highway 152 between Liberty, Mo. and Fort Leavenworth, Kan., was in heavy use from 1826 to arround 1886. It was a wagon trail originally used by the enlisted men at Fort Leavenworth to attend dances and social events at William Jewell College. During the Civil War, the trails served both Confederate and Union armies as they transported men, weapons and supplies across the state line to the fort.

After doing research at the Clay County Historical Society, Cieropoit cleared the section of trail running through the Maple Woods campus earlier this year as a project to earn his Eagle Scout credentials. While clearing the trails of brush and overgrowth, he found several artifacts and evidence of historical travel, including pieces of wood and a wagon spoke. The 300-foot trail still contains traces of the wagon ruts created by heavy use.

A member of the homeschool community, Cieropoit is now attending Maple Woods, working on computer networking and Cisco certification.

MCC-Maple Woods' Green Leaf Cafe gets a new look for fall

Students, faculty and staff returning to campus for the fall semester may notice something different about the Green Leaf Cafe when they come in for breakfast or lunch on Tuesday: the cafe has a bright, shiny new coat of paint, thanks to interim campus life and leadership coordinator Misty Chandler and the Student Ambassadors.

The Ambassadors undertook the project last week, giving the walls a fresh coat of pain and sprucing up the interior for a fresh, new semester. Thanks for all your hard work!