Caregiver Kit Initiative - Community Pages
Quaker Valley students ship 100 kits to caregivers
Quaker Valley students ship 100 kits to caregivers
Thursday, January 15, 2009
By Sandy Trozzo
The students moved quickly, working their way along the table, placing cotton balls, soap and other items in 100 orange carrying cases. The last item in each case -- a carefully worded note of encouragement in French -- was placed on top.
The kits are destined for three French-speaking countries to help people who care for those living with AIDS and HIV.
For students in the French Club at Quaker Valley High School, packing the kits was the culmination of a five-week project to ensure that volunteer caregivers have the supplies they need to care for the sick and dying people in their villages.
The students raised $3,000 to buy the supplies for 100 kits. On Friday, about 25 students met at the World Vision distribution center in Aleppo to write the notes and assemble the kits to be shipped to Haiti, Burundi or Malawi, countries where French is spoken.
"They look for those note cards immediately," Jim Fischerkeller, corporate relations director for World Vision, said of the people who receive the kits. "It validates for them … that somebody so far away cares."
Members of the Quaker Valley French Club have been volunteering at World Vision each month for the past 10 years, sorting and packing donated goods to be sent to people in need, either in the United States or overseas, said teacher and club sponsor Cindy Goldbach.
Mrs. Goldbach said her family sponsored a child through World Vision for decades. "When I started teaching here, I wanted to get them involved in a volunteer activity," she said of her students. Having one of World Vision's two distribution centers -- where items are received, stored and shipped -- within the school district made the choice easy.
World Vision is based in the state of Washington. It has another distribution center in Denver and smaller facilities in 10 other locations around the country. New items, such as clothing, school supplies, books and medical supplies are donated by companies and sent where they are needed in the United States and 45 to 50 other countries.
The Quaker Valley students were the first to assemble a caregiver kit in the Aleppo facility, said Laura Kennedy, volunteer coordinator. The kits usually are assembled off-site by school and community groups.
"We're excited to even try it," she said. "I would like to see this happen more often."
After the money is raised, the items for the kits are bought from McKesson Corp., a health-care company that partners with World Vision to supply items in bulk. The kits contain a notebook and several pens, a box of latex gloves, anti-fungal cream, acetaminophen, petroleum jelly, cotton balls, washcloths, small bars of soap and a flashlight with batteries.
"The need is so great that to keep building these kits is essential," Ms. Kennedy said.
More than 3 million people die as a result of AIDS each year, and 15 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents to AIDS, according to information the students used in their fundraising efforts.
Before writing their notes and assembling the kits, the students watched a video about caregivers in Zambia in Africa and saw photos that Mr. Fischerkeller took during a trip there.
"Everything you do here today is going to be a big deal for someone," he told the students.
Marisa Floro, a junior from Bell Acres, agreed. "Even if we pack one package, we're making such a difference."
Aaron Singleton, a junior from Leet, said students in more affluent areas have a responsibility to help. "We're so privileged and a lot of people take that for granted, and these people are in life-and-death responsibilities every day."
His thoughts were echoed by Blair Abraham, a senior from Sewickley Heights. "These people have such a hard life and it is so different from what we have here," she said. "We have so much, and they appreciate anything we do for them."
Martha Smith, communications manager for the school district, said Quaker Valley students do a lot of community service, but the French Club took service to an international scope with this project.
"They raised the money to purchase the items, but they actually have to do the kits," she said. "I think that's much better than just raising the money."
Freelance writer Sandy Trozzo can be reached at suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
By Sandy Trozzo
The students moved quickly, working their way along the table, placing cotton balls, soap and other items in 100 orange carrying cases. The last item in each case -- a carefully worded note of encouragement in French -- was placed on top.
The kits are destined for three French-speaking countries to help people who care for those living with AIDS and HIV.
For students in the French Club at Quaker Valley High School, packing the kits was the culmination of a five-week project to ensure that volunteer caregivers have the supplies they need to care for the sick and dying people in their villages.
The students raised $3,000 to buy the supplies for 100 kits. On Friday, about 25 students met at the World Vision distribution center in Aleppo to write the notes and assemble the kits to be shipped to Haiti, Burundi or Malawi, countries where French is spoken.
"They look for those note cards immediately," Jim Fischerkeller, corporate relations director for World Vision, said of the people who receive the kits. "It validates for them … that somebody so far away cares."
Members of the Quaker Valley French Club have been volunteering at World Vision each month for the past 10 years, sorting and packing donated goods to be sent to people in need, either in the United States or overseas, said teacher and club sponsor Cindy Goldbach.
Mrs. Goldbach said her family sponsored a child through World Vision for decades. "When I started teaching here, I wanted to get them involved in a volunteer activity," she said of her students. Having one of World Vision's two distribution centers -- where items are received, stored and shipped -- within the school district made the choice easy.
World Vision is based in the state of Washington. It has another distribution center in Denver and smaller facilities in 10 other locations around the country. New items, such as clothing, school supplies, books and medical supplies are donated by companies and sent where they are needed in the United States and 45 to 50 other countries.
The Quaker Valley students were the first to assemble a caregiver kit in the Aleppo facility, said Laura Kennedy, volunteer coordinator. The kits usually are assembled off-site by school and community groups.
"We're excited to even try it," she said. "I would like to see this happen more often."
After the money is raised, the items for the kits are bought from McKesson Corp., a health-care company that partners with World Vision to supply items in bulk. The kits contain a notebook and several pens, a box of latex gloves, anti-fungal cream, acetaminophen, petroleum jelly, cotton balls, washcloths, small bars of soap and a flashlight with batteries.
"The need is so great that to keep building these kits is essential," Ms. Kennedy said.
More than 3 million people die as a result of AIDS each year, and 15 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents to AIDS, according to information the students used in their fundraising efforts.
Before writing their notes and assembling the kits, the students watched a video about caregivers in Zambia in Africa and saw photos that Mr. Fischerkeller took during a trip there.
"Everything you do here today is going to be a big deal for someone," he told the students.
Marisa Floro, a junior from Bell Acres, agreed. "Even if we pack one package, we're making such a difference."
Aaron Singleton, a junior from Leet, said students in more affluent areas have a responsibility to help. "We're so privileged and a lot of people take that for granted, and these people are in life-and-death responsibilities every day."
His thoughts were echoed by Blair Abraham, a senior from Sewickley Heights. "These people have such a hard life and it is so different from what we have here," she said. "We have so much, and they appreciate anything we do for them."
Martha Smith, communications manager for the school district, said Quaker Valley students do a lot of community service, but the French Club took service to an international scope with this project.
"They raised the money to purchase the items, but they actually have to do the kits," she said. "I think that's much better than just raising the money."
Freelance writer Sandy Trozzo can be reached at suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
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