A Bethesda parent won a statewide school volunteer award Friday for his work developing a program to provide donated food and household items to Westland Middle School families in need.
Andrew Niebler started the Westland Cares program as a holiday card-giving effort, according to Montgomery County Public Schools. It soon morphed into a pantry of food and everyday household items, a gift-giving and gift-wrapping program around the holidays, book fair certificates and scholarships to help pay for afterschool activities.
Niebler won the eighth annual Maryland Parent Involvement Matters Award, or PIMA, from the Maryland State Department of Education at a ceremony in Baltimore.
“Andrew has never looked for a quick fix. It has always been about neighbors connecting with neighbors,” Westland Principal Alison Serino said, according to a school system press release. “A secondary gift of Andrew’s work with Westland Cares is the consciousness he has raised with other families. He calls on neighbors to help, and they do not disappoint.”
Niebler was one of 24 semifinalists for the award. Each public school district in Maryland selected one.
Other semifinalists included a Baltimore City woman who volunteers running a local elementary school’s store and helping in the cafeteria, in addition to leading a painting project of the school’s hallways and lockers.
“Andrew Niebler saw a need, filled it, and then found new ways to improve that initiative,” state Superintendent of Schools Lillian Lowery said. “His commitment inspires us all.”
