In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the school collaborated with Fight Like A Kid and encouraged all of its students and families to make and donate baskets. More than 1,000 baskets were collected by the Parents Club in the cafetorium on Friday, September 6 for the Fight-Like-A-Kid Organization. The baskets were made to be distributed to children going through chemotherapy in local hospitals.
Baskets can contain a coloring book, crayons or markers, fuzzy socks, a stuffed animal, tissue pack, hand sanitizer, or $10 gift card.
Sebastian Aybar (6) was excited to participate in this yearly tradition as a brand-new Bulldog. As an incentive, students receive two community service hours per baskets with a max of ten hours given. However, many students like Aybar do it for the cause, not the credit.
“I think it is really important, because I hope that they see this as gifts and that they know that they have people cheering them on so they put up the best fight to be healthy,” said Aybar.
Essentially, students see the service hours are an added bonus, due to the profound difference they are making in these kid’s lives. Friday was the only day students could drop-off the baskets and the collection began promptly at 7:30 a.m. Overall, the event was organized and controlled in spite of the chaos that could ensue with so many students of different grades and number of baskets.
Throughout the years, Parent’s Club and service coordinator and counselor, Caridad Martinez, have perfected the procedure for the event. NJHS members earn hours by volunteering and directing students to their respective grade-level section, where they drop off their donations. These volunteers record the number of baskets donated, ensuring that students receive credit for their contributions. Each grade has a designated row in the cafetorium, clearly marked for easy identification, helping students
quickly find their NJHS volunteer.
Freshman, Autumn McKay, was one of those NJHS members who earned service hours for her services. She mentioned how she wants to come back each year to watch it grow.
Parent’s Club member Annie Mata, who has overseen this service opportunity for the past five years, refers to it as her “yearly tradition.” She highlights how rewarding it is to see the kids consistently show up, helping the tradition flourish year after year.
I know that the first year I did [the event], it was a year with one U-Haul truck and it was a small one. Now we are into the bigger sized U-Haul trucks, so I do know it grows and grows.”
Last year, the school collected 884 baskets and this year greatly surpassed that number, exceeding 1,000.
According to the American Childhood Cancer Organization, one in 1 in 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday. To give back to this deserving cause especially during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, our school hosts this amazing service opportunity in partnership with Fight Like A Kid and each year it just gets bigger and better.
