Onondaga Community College: The Gift Of Caring

Syracuse NY

15 December, 2021

11:48 AM

Description

Press release from Onondaga Community College: Roger Mirabito December 15, 2021 Students at Dr. Weeks Elementary School hold up their "thank you" sign after receiving mental health care bags from OCC's honor society students. Onondaga Community College's chapter of honor society Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) spent the fall semester working on a major project focused on the issue of mental health and disability. Their efforts included collecting and donating related books to the Children's Learning Center in Ferrante Hall, and hosting a "Living Library" on campus. Their work culminated with the creation of 200 mental health care bags for students at Syracuse's Dr. Weeks Elementary School. PTK students put heartwarming messages on each of the bags like "You Are Loved" and "OCC Cares." Inside each of the bags were items like stress balls, bubble makers, fidget spinners, and pencil sharpeners. Due to Covid, PTK students could not bring the bags to Dr. Weeks and spend time with students. Instead, they simply dropped them off and hoped they would be well received. The students at Dr. Weeks were so excited by what they received they posed for pictures and posted messages on social media. "We're so honored we were able to help such an amazing group of students," said OCC PTK Chapter President Caitlin Wiltsey. "Even though we could not go into the school like we originally planned, this project was a great success." This press release was produced by Onondaga Community College. The views expressed here are the author's own.