As you walk through the main lobby of Lions Gate Hospital this holiday season you may catch a glimpse of little green hands.
No, it’s not an appearance of the mischievous Dr. Seuss Grinch character, it is a special creation by students at Cove Cliff elementary.
Students in grades 2 and 4 worked together to trace their hands, cut them out, and paste them in the shape of a Christmas tree that now adorns the bulletin board in the main lobby of the hospital.
Using the buddy system, older students helped younger ones and curled the edges of the paper fingers to form the needles of the tree. They also created paper presents and garland for decoration.
Called the Christmas Caring Tree, the project was done in support of the North Shore Hospice expansion fundraising campaign.
“I just thought it was a great opportunity to involve the community and some of our youngest members of our community, and educate them about the importance of philanthropy and how it’s important to give back to the community,” explains Louise Campbell, director of development at Lions Gate Hospital Foundation about why she asked the school to participate.
Last week, households across the North Shore received a mail-out from the foundation with information about the campaign. The package also contained a sticker ornament that could be sent back with a donation for the hospice fundraiser. Donors can write their names and a message on the ornaments. The stickers are then added to the tree of helping hands created by the students.
“It’s just so great to have the school kids involved,” says Campbell. “We’re just so grateful to them for taking the time to, first of all, create the tree, it’s such a creative idea to use hands. They’re so creative, we’re so excited to have them involved.”
Cove Cliff school vice-principal Diane Ehrling says the students were equally excited to participate in the project.
“It just gives them a chance to look outward as opposed to just in at what they receive,” says Ehrling, adding the school participates in many community projects throughout the year, but the holiday season is an especially good time to help the kids focus on what others can receive from them rather than just on what they receive.
As palliative care is a complex topic to discuss with young children, Ehrling says the focus of discussion around the project was how they as a class could help in their community and contribute to their local hospital. As well as helping to raise funds, Campbell says the tree is providing some festive spirit for hospital staff, patients, and visitors.
The hospice expansion project fundraising goal of $2 million now stands at $1.2 million. Campbell says the hope is that the final goal will be reached by spring.
Anyone who would like to contribute can contact the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation by phone to have a package mailed out, or visit the office on the main floor of the hospital.
“I would say Christmas is our busiest giving time of year, and I think that’s in large part because people are thinking about their families, they’re thinking about their loved ones and they’re thinking about how vital it is for us to come together as a community,” says Campbell. “We’re really looking to the community to help us out here and transform end-of-life care here on the North Shore.”
