Ways to Support CNH

Volunteer

City Neighbors Hamilton is structured as a family-school cooperative. Family participation is central to the success of our program. By participating fully in our family-school cooperative, you can take satisfaction in the knowledge that you are an integral part of the success of City Neighbors Hamilton.

Here are a few ways to volunteer:

  • Beautification – Several times a year parents gather for workdays to weed, plant flowers, and mulch the playground and pathways. Contact: Suranjan Chakraborty
  • Classroom Support – Teachers may request classroom help on anything from washing towels to coordinating in-class events. Contact: Maryhelen Pflug
  • Teacher Appreciation – Luncheon, gifts, and decorations are the highlight of Teacher Appreciation Week in May. Contact: Maryhelen Pflug
  • After-School Enrichment Clubs – Share your skills, talents, and enthusiasm with our students by running an after-school enrichment club.  Previous clubs have included litter patrol, soccer, candy-making, chess, and French.  We look forward to you sharing your unique talents with our students! Contact: Idris Olabode (Mr. O)
  • Events – CNH has a variety of events throughout the school year: movie nights, spaghetti dinners, bake sales.  Volunteers are needed for planning and working specific events. New ideas are always welcome! Contact: Liz Spann
  • Fundraising –  Every December, CNH runs Zeke’s coffee fundraiser, just in time for the holidays. Other ideas that the committee pursues are donation drives and various fundraisers. Contact: Liz Spann
  • Communication – The Communications Committee supports school-wide communication and welcomes assistance and creativity for creating event posters and flyers, as well as discuss ways to enhance school-wide communication through technology and social media . Contact: Lynette Svoboda
  • Culture of Care – Dr. Shyla hosts this parent’s panel to look at promoting a caring school culture. Contact: Dr. Shyla Rao
  • School Library – Help students find books! The school library is completely staffed by parent volunteers.  Contact: Lynette Svoboda.
  • Scholastic Book Club/Fair – Parent volunteers coordinate the Scholastic Book Club sales for and run the Scholastic Book Fair. Contact: Dr. Shyla Rao
  • Open House – Open house events are held during the winter months for prospective parents. Contact: Dr. Shyla Rao
  • Suggestions – Questions or suggestions about the committees? Contact: Erika Coughlin  

Fulfilling your volunteer commitment

Each CNH parent is asked to contribute 40 hours per school year AND to join at least one school committee (see below). We need you and your time, talent, and skills to make CNH vibrant and unique! It is your responsibility to fulfill, track, and submit your volunteer hours.  The Family Participation Committee will provide an update on your progress every trimester, and you can request an up-to-date report using the form below.

Request your volunteer hours report
Log your volunteer hours

Learn about the committees:

Advocacy Committee

Chair: Mike Chalupa, mchalupa@cityneighbors.org

This committee advocates on behalf of City Neighbor Hamilton, charter schools, and the Baltimore City Public School System.  This committee will coordinate efforts with the Advocacy Committee of our network schools, City Neighbors Charter School and City Neighbors High School.  We believe in taking a stand for all children.  Come help us impact Annapolis, City Council, and City Schools on behalf of the children of Baltimore.

Facility Committee

Chair:  Suranjan Chakraborty, schakraborty@cityneighborhamilton.org

This committee assists and supports the Principal, Building Manager, and faculty, in creating a well-maintained learning environment for students and staff.  Students are encouraged to participate and their volunteer hours count toward your family’s hours.  This committee saves the school thousands of dollars through its efforts.

Communications Committee

Chair:  Lynette Svoboda, lsvoboda@cityneighborshamilton.org

This committee is responsible for keeping the minutes of City Neighbors Hamilton, the archives, the website, and support general school-wide communications.

Community Relations Committee

Chair:  Seeking interested applicants – please contact Erika Coughlin, ecoughlin@cityneighborshamilton.org

This committee works to build and strengthen our relationships with both the outside community and the internal school community through social events and outreach.  City Neighbors is part of the strength of northeast Baltimore, and we are committed to making a difference in our neighborhood.

Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Chair: Raina Terrel Wilson, rwilson@cityneighborshamilton.org

The Diversity and Inclusion Committee seeks out resources and venues to facilitate meaningful interactions that explicitly grapple with diversity in our school, community, and world, and to create opportunities for CNH community members to connect and grow.  Our job is to proactively promote, support, and celebrate our wonderful diversity at City Neighbors.

Fundraising Committee

Chair:  Liz Spann, lspann@cityneighborshamilton.org

This committee is tasked to raise funds to meet the school’s commitment to provide a rich program for our students.  Money raised by this committee is used for many of the programs that make CNH so inspirational to our students and teachers:  field trips—local and nationwide—, technology equipment and support, teaching supplies, athletics, and many other enrichment activities, as well as teacher professional development.  This committee creates, promotes, distributes, and sets up sales at various fundraising activities at the school, as well as neighborhood and city-wide festivals and events.

Parent and Family Relations Committee

Chair:  Maryhelen Pflug, mpflug@cityneighborshamilton.org

The Parent and Family Relations Committee (formerly the OPG) is an important hub of communication.  Classroom Representatives are automatically part of this committee, but all CNH parents are welcome and encouraged to attend these meetings.  This committee works in partnership with the Principal and faculty to host events such as family educational workshops regarding our curriculum.  We also support other committees and participate in school functions, such as the Winter Creative Arts Festival and Spring Gallery Night.

Family Participation Committee

Elisabeth Hyleck, ehyleck@cityneighborshamilton.org

This committee is responsible for tracking family participation and volunteer hours, encouraging family participation in school events, and celebrating family engagement. This committee also helps to coordinate family volunteers for the library

Donate

There are several ways you can make financial donations to City Neighbors Hamilton:

Box Tops for Education

Products that you already buy can help earn money for our school. Participating products include General Mills, Nestle, Huggies, Cottonelle, Hefty, Green Giant, Pillsbury, and many more! Just clip the box tops logo from the package and place them in our collection box located in the school lobby!

Shop at Target

Have a Target Card?  Designate City Neighbors Hamilton CHTR Baltimore, MD 21214 ID # 151589 as your charity, and we will receive donations to the school based on a percentage of what you spend!

Shop online through Amazon Smile

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support City Neighbors Hamilton every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same prices, but Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to City Neighbors Hamilton. On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you’ll need to select City Neighbors Hamilton as your charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation.

Buy CNH swag

T-shirts, accessories, and stickers are available for purchase from the Fundraising Chair at special events.

Make a tax-exempt donation

Your monetary donation goes to our educational programs, field trips, and materials for our many school projects. You can donate to CNH via Paypal.

Thank you for your support!