By Jui Bhatia, Staff Reporter
A new club formed this year, Caring For Kids has already launched its first fundraiser. Members hand-delivered donuts to support children at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The service-based group raised funds for the Child Life program at CHOP. The program helps children and their families better understand the specific procedures and treatments they are undergoing.
Running from May 1 to May 11, the fundraiser sold 30 donuts through an online form. The event was not organized in partnership with any specific vendor and the donuts were resold at a higher price so that the profits could go to CHOP. After volunteers purchased the pastries, they were hand-delivered to the buyer’s house, where a club volunteer told them about the cause and how they can further support it. This cause is personal for sophomore Peyton Reidenbach, who co-founded the club with sophomore Kathleen Sisian.
“I actually have a bunch of medical conditions, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the hospital. The Child Life specialists have been super helpful with my experiences and I’ve been really close with a lot of them. We’re trying to help and give back to everything that they do,” Reidenbach said.
The Child Life program helps children feel more comfortable during their stay at the hospital and uses methods such as art therapy and play therapy to create a happier and more welcoming environment for patients who may not be able to understand why they are going through a certain treatment. These methods help experts communicate with children through different means and help the children express their concerns in a way that suits them. Junior Aditya Sirohi found this to be a unique initiative as it supported something so different and because the children need the help.
“When fundraisers go around school, they’re often for a club or organization trying to raise money to help their club initiative, but it’s not often that (fundraisers) like this come around,” Sirohi said. “This is also very unique (the money goes) to a credible organization, I thought I’d help them.”
In addition to the convenience of having donuts delivered to one’s house, the fundraiser’s home delivery aspect gave volunteers like junior Ella Lubitz a chance to interact with new people.
“When I heard that we were going to do a donut fundraiser, I thought it was a good opportunity to get out of the house, meet new people and tell them about what we are doing here in this club,” Lubitz said. “I encourage people to fund this (charity) because this money is going towards gifts and certain things that these kids need, so anything that they donate is going to be putting a smile on a kid’s face.”
Similarly, freshman Sarah Fox notes that these children may be going through life-changing things and that any donation would make their stay in the hospital that much better.
“This (cause) is a way to help kids who might be the same age or even younger than me and make their experience better,” Fox said. “Our club leader, Peyton, actually spent a lot of time in hospitals when she was younger, so her story really touched everyone in the club and inspired us to help. I think it’s just nice to be able to be there for someone and try to make their day better.”
Jui Bhatia can be reached at [email protected].
