GCC's Nurse's Club is Taking Care of Easter for Rochester's Ronald McDonald House Families

Batavia, NY (03/05/2018) — When we think of nurses, we think of the care they provide to patients in a hospital, nursing homes, medical offices or schools. However, Genesee Community College's Nurse's Club is taking "care" to another level. On Saturday, March 10, 2018 GCC's Nurse's Club will host a community Easter Basket Assembly event at the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate MedTech Centre. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. the entire community is invited to come and help assemble the baskets. Families are encouraged to bring their children and donate a couple hours to this meaningful community project.

The Nurse's Club's goal is to prepare 50 baskets to be given to the families staying in the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester on Westmoreland Drive as well as the House within the Hospital in Rochester.

Supporting GCC's Nurse's Club, Willow Group, Ltd. of Batavia has donated all 50 baskets and Pauly's Pizza also of Batavia is donating pizza for the basket-makers to enjoy during the assembly event. The club is currently accepting monetary donations, candy (no peanuts), plastic eggs, playdoh, sidewalk chalk, or other Easter goodies to fill the baskets. The club is also eager to welcome any volunteers who'd like to help assemble. To volunteer or to make a donation, please contact Sandy Kosciolek at sdkosciolek@genesee.edu or (585) 343-0055 ext.6355 by March 7, 2018.

"The families staying at the Ronald McDonald House are there to be near their sick children. They didn't choose to find themselves there during the Easter holiday, but they are there. These baskets will hopefully lift their spirits and make the holiday a little easier," Rebecca Herlan, a GCC nursing instructor and co-advisor to the Nurse's Club. "Often times, the hospitalized child's siblings are staying at the Ronald McDonald House too and so these baskets will go to them as well."

For Trista Teets, the student organizing the entire event, this is much more than a community service project, it is about the warmth these donations bring to the hearts of these children and families. Teets's daughter was a patient at Golisano Children's Hospital when she was just two weeks old. "It was Easter time and our entire family was so wrapped up in our daughter's care, we had no time or energy left for an Easter celebration for our older children. The Easter Bunny and a local police officer visited the hospital and gave both of our sons a small stuffed bunny. It made our sons smile and our hearts melt. I am hoping this basket event will do the same for other families who are just trying to get through this difficult time in their lives," says Teets.

The Ronald McDonald House provides a "home-away-from-home" for families while their children receive the medical care they need. The Westmoreland Drive House has 24 bedrooms, three kitchens, complimentary laundry facilities, gardens and play areas where kids can be kids. The house also provides meals and snacks for the families and transportation to and from the medical facilities is available. More information about the Ronald McDonald House Charities including ways to donate or volunteer is available at http://www.rmhcrochester.org/.

The Nurse's Club at GCC was founded over two decades ago with the desire to promote community involvement and leadership. The club members provide health information and charitable contributions to organizations related to the health care industry. In addition to the basket assembly event, the club is currently operating a drive to collect towels and feminine hygiene products for the House of Mercy in Rochester.

The basket assembly event will take place at the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate MedTech Centre which is located at 99 MedTech Drive in Batavia, across the street from GCC's Main campus. The MedTech Center provides GCC's Nursing Program students with state-of-the-art medical equipment and laboratories. The facility also houses the United Memorial Medical Center's Physical Therapy program and the Genesee County Economic Development Center offices.

To volunteer, to make a donation, or for further information please contact Sandy Kosciolek at sdkosciolek@genesee.edu or (585) 343-0055 ext.6355 by March 7, 2018.

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