Every day, millions of people around the world have to go to the hospital for something. Sometimes, it’s cancer, and sometimes these patients can’t get the help or motivation they need. But what if I told you that there was a club here at Paint Branch that works tirelessly to help these patients? This club is called Kits to Heart.
Kits to Heart is a public, non-profit organization based in Maryland. According to their website, it was founded in May of 2020 and is run by Sonia Su, a cancer survivor herself who wants to make a difference in how cancer patients are treated. Su states that the organization’s vision is to “provide adequate material and psychological support to help reduce stress and anxiety for a better treatment process.” To do this, volunteers create items for patients like letters, stickers, hats, journals, and more. These kits are then sent off to different children’s hospitals for cancer patients to receive. While the feeling of helping others may be more than enough reward, members earn 1 SSL hour for every item they create. Members will receive an SSL form to fill out and submit to earn their hours.
The Kits to Heart club, which is in its first year at PB, met on Wednesday, December 4, in room 2228 during lunch. At the start of the meeting, club adviser Ms. Hall, a PB Social Studies teacher, welcomed all students who entered the room. After everyone was seated, she told them to work on their latest project: support stickers for patients. Before students began their work, they watched a video tutorial to see how to make the stickers correctly. Afterwards, they could get started on their stickers. The stickers need to have a drawing and inspirational quote or message on them to bring joy to the patients.
There were lots of cute sticker designs like a dinosaur, mushroom, shark, rose, coffee mug, and heart. They all had some inspirational messages on them, too. So, they weren’t just drawings of cute animals and objects, they were also giving some words of wisdom for a child to read and to help make them smile.
As for why someone should consider joining the club, Ms. Hall said “you’re doing something for cancer patients instead of just earning SSL hours. Everybody’s talking, everybody’s working, so it feels like a camaraderie.” While the day’s work went well, Ms. Hall admits that her favorite project has been having students write heartfelt letters for patients.
Club Vice President and PB senior Tsehay Dawit said that the club is “definitely a club I enjoy being at because it’s for a good cause. It’s heartwarming to know that the kits are going off to someone who needs them. It’s nice to give some light to their lives.”
Club President and PB senior Jeanine Avudufu also enjoys the club’s work adding “I like the fact that we’re able to bring everyone together to work on projects that supports others through their hardships.”
But it wasn’t just the people in charge that highlighted their views on what they enjoy about the club. PB senior Michelle Lopez said “I like the stickers. Took a while, but it’s worth it. I like that it’s an SSL opportunity, but you can also have fun with it.”
At the end of the meeting, Ms. Hall made sure everyone signed in before they left. When the bell rang, she wished everyone a good rest of their day. Kits to Heart is always looking for new members, and you can become one, too, by going to a meeting and letting the advisers know you’re interested. They will tell you about what they do and the projects they’ve done. Then, you can get started on your journey to help bring joy to a cancer patient.
