Record setters — Cambria Heights donates 277 Jared Boxes to UPMC
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Dozens of Cambria Heights High School students stopped at UPMC Altoona on Friday morning to deliver 277 gift-filled Jared Boxes for hospitalized children.
Michelle Walters, volunteer services manager at UPMC Altoona, said the school's donation this year was more Jared Boxes than the hospital has ever received.
"This is super exciting (for the kids)," she said. "To know they'll have something to play with is amazing."
The boxes delivered by about 50 high school students contain a number of items to help children pass the time during their hospital stay. There are coloring books and crayons, puzzles, fidget toys and small stuffed animals among the box's contents.
This was the third year Cambria Heights students donated Jared Boxes to UPMC Altoona.
According to the Jared Box Project website, the effort started in 2001 by the children of Our Lady of Victory Catholic School in State College to honor their classmate and friend Jared, who battled cancer.
Since then, more than 1 million Jared Boxes have been delivered to over 500 hospitals throughout the United States.
At Cambria Heights, a friendly competition was held among homerooms to see who could make the most number of boxes for the kids.
As a treat for their efforts, students in the top three homerooms earned a day out of class to deliver the boxes, as well as go for pizza and bowling at Holiday Bowl after the delivery was made.
Jamie Murphy's homeroom of 21 students won the competition with 109 boxes made -- only 41 boxes short of the entire school's goal.
Murphy said her students were competitive and "went above and beyond" during the competition's final days.
"The kids were trying to spy on the other homerooms to see how many boxes they had collected," she said. "Not only did they bring in items, they also brought in money for me to purchase items, if they were unable to go to the store."
Sophomore Kaylie Bradley, one of the students in Murphy's homeroom, said she's delighted to have a hand in helping hospitalized children feel better.
"It's nice to be able to get out of school for doing it. But, at the same time, I like that we're here delivering them," Bradley said, adding she didn't get to deliver the gifts last year.
Alaina Bearer and Alyssa Miller -- also sophomores in Murphy's homeroom -- said even though there was competition among homerooms, everyone involved realizes how important the boxes are to the children who will receive them.
"I would still donate even if we didn't have a reward for this," Bearer said.
Miller said the Jared Boxes "give back to the kids who are going through a lot."
"It can make their time go by faster," she said.
Michele Schirf, a teacher at Cambria Heights, said the competition received a lot of support from the students, staff, administration and school board.
"Parents and community members were also a huge factor in our success," she said.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.