YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Needing care from the hospital can be scary for any child.
Two service organizations, along with adult education students at Choffin Career & Technical Center, collected more than 1,180 toys and other gifts for children needing that care at Akron Children’s Hospital.
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. members started collecting the toys when a fraternity brother turned 70 and a black tie gala was held. He asked that instead of bringing him a gift, members bring a toy.
“He knew that he could actually depend on his friends to bring out toys, and they really did show up,” said Kevin Douglas, president of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. Douglas added that the mission to help the hospital provide these toys fits well with the group’s goals of serving the Youngstown community.
Sherry Cross, director of adult education at the Choffin Career & Technical Center and president of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, said members of the sorority seek to “make sure we do what we can in the community to ensure that our kids grow up having the things that they need and the things that they like. It is very important to give back.
The Phi Beta Sigma fraternity motto is “culture for service and service for humanity,” while Zeta Phi Beta seeks to be “a community-conscious, action-oriented organization.” The two organizations also modeled the importance of giving back to Choffin students.
Cross said though many adult students at Choffin do not have a lot themselves, they dug into their pockets and bought items, including coloring books and crayons, which many children love to use during their stay at Akron Children’s Hospital.
The items that were collected were presented to Akron Children’s representatives Friday at Choffin.
Cross said Akron Children’s gives toys and other items to children in the hospital not just during the holidays but 365 days a year.
“You know anytime you’re giving back, you give to yourself, so we all feel good when we’re doing it. And we are so appreciative of all the people who decided to assist and help us,” Cross said.
Jamie DeMain, director of volunteer and visitor services at Akron Children’s, called the roomful of toys and items collected at Choffin “so impressive.”
“It means so much to our staff and our volunteers to be able to have the community support to give these toys to our patients,” DeMain said, adding that volunteers, staff and child life specialists give them out to young patients throughout the hospital.
Serving patients from newborns to age 21, Akron Children’s will be able to use these toys not just to help Santa for the child who needs overnight care on Christmas, but throughout the next several months. DeMain said the toys may last until summer, but more donations are always welcome.
“For our staff, it is so much more than a toy. It is truly part of the medical healing process,” he said. “You have a child that’s fidgety or upset, trying to get an IV or to take their medicine or even to lay still for an X-ray, giving them a toy comforts them and calms them down. It makes it a little less scary to come back the next time.”
Pictured at top: From left are Brenda Spencer, Zeta Phi Beta member; Linda Hall, Zeta Phi Beta member; Kevin Douglas, president of Phi Beta Sigma Inc. Tau Rho chapter; Jamie DeMain, director of volunteer and visitor services at Akron Children’s; Sherry Cross, director of adult education at the Choffin Career & Technical Center and president of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority Kappa Nu Zeta chapter; Sunitera Dudley, Zeta Phi Beta member; and Kelly Robertson, manager of volunteer services at Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley.