07 Feb 2014 HP teams work with students to create Valentines for ACH patients
by Sonja J. Keith
Valentine’s Day will be a little brighter for patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital thanks to Faulkner County schoolchildren and HP.
This is the third year for HP to sponsor the Valentine project. In mid-January, HP Conway teams visited 68 classrooms in eight schools in Conway and Vilonia. “We had 110 HP volunteers help and 1,500 students made 1,845 cards for patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital,” said Valerie Lane, site program manager at the Conway customer contact center. “This is awesome!”
HP provided construction paper and stickers for the students to use with their markers, crayons and colored pencils to create the cards.
Vilonia Primary first grade teacher Kim Reed said her students have participated in the project for a couple of years. She incorporates the activity into curriculum about building a community through respect. She talks to the students about how children from many states are treated at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and how receiving a Valentine card from a student in Vilonia would mean so much to them. “They love it,” she said. “I have a very sweet, loving class.”
Reed said she thinks the project is a great idea. “I love it.”
According to Valerie, each year the project grows with more volunteers and more classrooms. She added that the project would not be possible without the support of teachers and school administrators. “Thank you again for allowing us into your classrooms!”
