July 29 , 2021 The Beacon • 13
Hospital giving back with 2 new events
By Josie Sellers
TheCoshoctonBeaconToday . com
Coshocton Regional Medical
Center is doing its part to help make sending kids back to school easier .
Approximately 3,200 elementary school students will receive backpacks full of supplies , courtesy of the hospital and several community sponsors .
“ This was one of the things on the bucket list of my boss Stephanie Conn ,” said Kaylee Andrews , manager of business development and marketing at the hospital . “ We weren ’ t able to pull it off prior to this , but coming out of COVID , we felt we all needed something to be proud of , and that would be a community outreach .”
The hospital received grant funding for the project from its parent company ’ s Prem Reddy Foundation .
“ They generously sponsored
60 % of the overall cost of the project ,” Andrews said . “ Job and Family Services and Danny Brenneman worked very closely with me , and we received help
“
These will be their backpacks , and the kids will get to take them and the supplies home . It ’ s not everything , but at least part of what is needed on their lists .”
Kaylee Andrews
from the Kiwanis , Hasseman Marketing and The Beacon . Since then we ’ ve had other community members and organizations like Drown Law Offices reach out , asking how they can assist with packing the backpacks or donations .”
Every school district was contacted to see what school supplies are most needed across the spectrum of pre-k through sixth grade .
“ They gave us like 10 items , and we hit the majority of what is needed for those ages ,” Andrews said . “ These will be their backpacks , and the kids will get to take them and the supplies home . It ’ s not everything , but at least part of what is needed on their lists . These are actually backpacks too . We didn ’ t want drawstring bags . We wanted something that would last them the whole year . We have four different types of backpacks , and each one comes in three different colors .”
After the bags are packed , they will be delivered to elementary schools , and it will be up to school staff how to distribute them .
Students at Coshocton , River View , Ridgewood , Newcomerstown , Sacred Heart , the Coshocton Christian School , Hopewell and Head Start are all included in the project . Each elementary student will receive the following : a backpack , supply box , tissues , one-dozen pack of # 2 wooden pencils , 24 Crayola crayons , 12 Crayola colored pencils , kids scissors , a glue stick , a block eraser , a yellow highlighter and a dry-erase marker .
Josie Sellers Dana Markley , health information manager , and Kaylee Andrews , manager of business development and marketing , are pictured packing school supplies at Coshocton Regional Medical Center .
“ There is no need to sign up ,” Andrews said . “ Everyone was automatically counted for in the numbers we got from the schools .”
She said the hospital plans to make this an annual project .
“ This feels awesome ,” Andrews said . “ It ’ s something we ’ ve talked about for several years , and in the middle of May , we decided , ‘ Let ’ s just try and do it ,’ and then it happened and in a very quick fashion . The outreach we ’ ve received from people wanting to help has been great . We really want to make this an annual campaign because now
Packer Fans
Coshocton Regional Medical Center shared this photo of Kiwanis of Coshocton members helping to pack school supplies on July 21 at the hospital . They were one of several groups that volunteered their time for this community project . we can tell our volunteers and donors what we need help with each year .”
The hospital also is giving families a free activity to enjoy before kids head back to school .
Coshocton Regional Medical Center ’ s Community Fun Day will be held Saturday , Aug . 7 from 10 a . m . to 2 p . m . at the hospital on Orange Street .
“ It ’ s something again that we wanted to do last year , but the year took a different turn ,” Andrews said . “ We wanted to do something that would bring people out but also be educational . Families will be able to come out to play games , jump on inflatables and meet local first responders so they are comfortable around them if they ever need them .”
The touch-a-truck portion of the day will include vehicles from Coshocton EMS , Tri-County EMS , MedFlight , the Coshocton Fire Department and the Coshocton County Sheriff ’ s Office .
“ MedFlight is planning to land at 11 a . m ., and the kids will get to get on the helicopter and talk to the pilot , and then at noon the sheriff ’ s office will do a K-9 demonstration ,” Andrews said .
School or sports physicals will be available at the urgent care location for $ 10 , and there will be free blood pressure and glucose screenings . There also will be food and giveaways .
“ We are going to have lots of fun freebies ,” Andrews said . “ The first 100 kids will get a free tiedyed T-shirt .”