A gaggle of aspiring volunteer poets recently gathered in the halls of the Jericho Public Library to give sick kids nationwide a hopeful gift of verse.
Cards for Hospitalized Kids (CFHK) is an international charitable organization that seeks to give sick children nationwide a smile and glimmer of hope by way of uplifting, handmade cards contributed by volunteers. Anyone from around the world has the ability to donate their time—and creativity—to help out.
Young Adult Services librarian Gina Patronaggio, who regularly runs civic-minded programming, thought that working with CFHK would be a perfect fit for many of the teens of Jericho, many of whom regularly offer their services at the library to help others.
“The young adult department hosts monthly community service oriented programs where teens work towards earning community service credit,” she said. “Once teens put their creative touch on these cards they will make their way nationwide, and I hope these cards will bring hope and joy to the children who receive them.”
To that end, Patronaggio enlisted the services of Darcy Rothbard—a teacher and writing tutor from Syosset—who has been running the library’s creative writing class and book club for the last four years. Rothbard headed up a recent class for Jericho teen volunteers to school them in the subtleties of poetry, which she said was an ideal literary format for raising a child’s spirits.
“Recently, we’ve moved the creative writing class to a more community-oriented program,” she said. “I’m teaching them about how poetry can be accessible and fun. A hospitalized child would really appreciate a funny or silly poem, it’s something that would really brighten their day.”
The cards constructed by the volunteers will be gathered and sent to CFHK for distribution to hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses across the United States. To date, more than 80,000 kids across all 50 states have received these wonderful cards from them.
(Photo Courtesy of Cards For Hospitalized Kids)
Emily Ko, a 16 year-old student at Jericho High School, is an active community volunteer. She is a regular at the library’s “Tech Buddy” program, where she aids the non-technically inclined come to grips with their iPads and smart phones, and said when the opportunity to participate in the CFHK program presented itself, she went for it right away.
“When you help someone else, you get this really good feeling inside,” she said. “I think that it’s nice that we’re making cards that will be going to kids all across the country. It will cheer them up in a fun and creative way.”
Daniel Choe, 16, is also a steadfast civic volunteer. He’s made goodie bags for children at the Ronald McDonald House and has donated his time extensively at the Jericho library’s children’s room, helping kids build Lego projects and construct dog toys for the local animal shelter.
“I moved to Jericho when I was in the fifth grade and as I’m getting older, I’m realizing how communal and special Jericho is,” he said. “Making these cards is a great thing that I really wanted to be involved in. When I was making the goodie bags for Ronald McDonald House, I would write little, happy uplifting messages for the kids, and it made me feel good. I just wanted to repeat that feeling.”
Rothbard applauded the Jericho teen volunteers for giving their time and efforts to brightening the day of an ill child—even one that may live hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
“The students that come here are always amazing and really enthusiastic,” she said. “We’re going to get a lot of great material today to send to the kids and help them get through a tough time.”
