The Monroe Lending Library offered a Summertime Enrichment program during July for children ages 5-12. This year's theme was "M is for Music" and introduced children to the four classifications of instruments: String, Percussion, Brass and Woodwind. Craft/Story-time relating to each instrument was discussed each Saturday. Robin Parrish developed the lesson plans and taught the class each week. In addition to the Saturday programs, the library also welcomed students from the Nazarene Church Preschool and Hornet Haven. The program closed with a concert where the children played the various instruments they made over the course of the program. The orchestra included drums, cellos, clarinets and trumpets. The concert was followed by refreshments of donuts and ice cream.

Mount Pleasant Retirement Village is pleased to announce the addition of Pilates Classes.  Classes will be open to the community based on availability.  Mount Pleasant is excited to introduce instructor, Molly Cloyd certified by Power Pilates, NYC.  Molly is certified in all Pilates including mat exercises and all apparatus in Pilates including the Cadillac, the Reformer the Wunda Chair and more.  Molly has been a Pilates instructor for more than four years.  After a spinal injury, Molly found Pilates beneficial to relieve her pain.  She feels helping others to regain control of their bodies and discover a new level of overall wellness to be most rewarding.

 To register for a class or obtain more information on times and costs, please call Lori Shutrump at 539-6085.  Lori is the Activity cooridinator with Mount Pleasant Retirement Village.

Players Left to Right: Brayden Singleton, Thomas MacLennan, Alex Watkins, Jacob Wethington, Ali Sultan, Gavin Myers, Sam Lewis, Deke Berry, Logan Strohofer, Dario Cruz, Jackson Denny, Justin Gray, absent Jacob Mayes
Back Row: Jim Berry asst. coach, Scott Myers Coach, Mike Watkins President Monroe Soccer, Steve Ricketts owner Wings & Rings, absent Travis Singleton asst. coach.
Photo by: Creative Edge Photography www.creative-edgephotography.com

On the same evening as Night at the Movies in the city's  community park, two local nonprofit organizations will sponsor a food drive.   On June 18, nonperishable human and pet foods will be collected by both the Monroe Area Community Foundation and Catnip & Carrots Animal Bunch.  Donated items will then be delivered to the Monroe Church of God pantry. 

To find out more about the two nonprofit groups, go to monroefoundation.com or catnipandcarrots.org.  Call Gina Miltenberger at 513-623-0874 for information about the food drive

Each year, the Monroe Area Community Foundation presents several scholarships to qualifying graduating seniors at Monroe Local Schools.  The MACF does so by utilizing trusts, memorial gifts and designated contributions to build individual funds to make the monies available. This year, the foundation awarded scholarships to the following recipients: 

DR. JAMES AND BERTHA ANDERSON FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP awarded to a senior planning to major in a medical field.
Recipient:  Benjamin Leahy plans to attend Centre College.
Presenter: Jane Majors, Scholarship Chairperson
Award: $1,000 paid to the college

DR. JAMES A. MACREADY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP awarded to a senior planning to major in a medical field.

On April 24^th, volunteers from the American Heritage Girls Troop OH412 of Liberty Township/Monroe worked together with about 200 other volunteers to pack 60,000 meals at the Kids Against Hunger factory in Blue Ash. The girls spent their morning packing meals that contained a mixture of protein, vegetables, vitamins, and rice. These meals were shipped to hungry children in the greater Cincinnati area, Kentucky, rural Appalachia, Haiti, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Nigeria, and Guatemala. Kids Against Hunger is a non-profit organization founded about 20 years ago in Minnesota. The Cincinnati satellite of Kids Against Hunger has been operating since July 2008, and to date has produced over 3,000,000 meals. To volunteer at Kids Against Hunger, visit www.hungernomore.us. To find out more about the American Heritage Girls, visit www.ahgonline.org.

Katie Howell, a fourth grade student at Monroe Elementary School, won first place for the third/fourth grade level in the 2010 Riverbank Poetry Student Competition. Katie's poem entitled Colors of the World, was chosen out of hundreds of poems submitted for this this year's competition. The Riverbank Poetry Student Competition is open to all Butler County students in grade 3-12. A formal reception was held on April 30th at the Miami University campus in Hamilton. At the reception, students read their award winning poems and received their trophies from John Kraimer, the director and poet laureate of the Riverbank Poetry Project.

Mommy and Me Make Music will begin it's summer session in June.  Classes are offered for children ages 4 months to 4 years old.  All classes have a theme that is age-appropriate and educational.  Parents and children interact while playing a variety of instruments, doing finger play songs and circle dances.  Props, such as scarves, parachute, and beanbags, are also used.  All activities are designed to encourage the development of social, cognitive, physical, and language skills. This is a great opportunity to interact with your child in a loving and educational environment.  Sessions average $9 per class and will be held on Monday mornings at Monroe Presbyterian Church.

MOMS Club of Monroe and Middletown is a support group for stay-at-home mothers.  Every month we schedule Kids Day Outs, Moms Night Outs, Mom and Tot Lunches, and playgroups.  Come to our open house on July 16th at Monroe Community Park at 11:00 am for lunch, games and refreshments. 

 The Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Monroe Area Community Foundation was held Thursday, April 15, 2010, in the James Monroe Community Room.