KO student collects books for West Penn Hospital
Here at Keystone Oaks, students need to have 120 hours of community service in order to graduate. It can be hard for many to find hours; however, opportunities come around that help students out by allowing them to give back to their communities in a different way.
Katie Cunningham is a senior this year, who has offered to collect children’s book donations for West Penn Hospital. In exchange for these books, community hours will be added onto the files of students through the help of the guidance office. She is looking for books targeted at younger children, especially preschool age. For every old book, a student will receive two hours, and for every new book, they will receive four hours. That sounds simple enough, and many have taken up the idea and ran with it.
Cunningham’s mother was the one who inspired her to start the donation process because of her job at West Penn Hospital, which allows her to help out with those who are in need. Her mother noticed that most of the books there for the patients were worn out, and thought that the children there would need more or better. After giving the books to either Cunningham or the guidance office, they will be given to her mother, who will take them back to the hospital to the offices and the patients in it. They will be distributed amongst them all.
“I thought it was a good idea for community service and the patients at the hospital,” Cunningham said.
Many students have been taking advantage of this opportunity, as they have been bringing in multiple books. So far, over 100 books have been collected that will be donated to the hospital. Cunningham urges all to help out, as the amount of hours given definitely lives up to what one gives away.
“It’s time consuming trying to find places that you can do community service at. Especially if you are a junior, it is hard to finish. Donating books could be a great way to gain these hours.”
This could be a yearly opportunity, but she believes it would have to be run through a new hospital, or the guidance office would need to help with determining that. She believes the guidance office would also be willing to help students who come up with ideas for community service, like Cunningham did, because they loved her idea and it was fairly simple to start.
Through her efforts, she has been able to see the impact on the patients in the hospital, and believes it has made quite an impact. If you seem to be low on your community service hours, or just want to help out some patients, try donating some books for the West Penn Hospital. It makes a difference in somebody’s life, even if it is as simple as a book.
Posted: Monday, March 6, 2017