George Bush High School seniors Chelsea Perez and Kelsey Vargas recently visited Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital to drop off a donation of 108 children’s books.
The girls raised $700 to purchase the books through Junior Achievement’s Be Entrepreneurial™ program, which challenges students to start their own entrepreneurial venture while still in high school.
According to their teacher Chris Cipolla, that’s exactly what the girls did – and in a big way. Earlier this year, Perez and Vargas launched a non-profit organization called “Chel’s & Kel’s Caring for a Cure” and solicited donations from their classmates and teachers. They also hosted mini-events across campus to raise money. One of their largest supporters was the Lady Bronco Softball team, who not only championed their cause at games, but also pooled their resources to donate a total of $200 to the organization.
“I am unbelievably proud of the girls for their accomplishments,” said Cipolla. “The goal of this program is to help students transition into productive, contributing members of society. In my eyes, they surpassed the goal and were able to experience the fruits of their labor during their visit to the hospital.”
While dropping off the book donation, Perez and Vargas personally delivered books to pediatric patients Hailey Steward, 6, and Jerich Harper, 2.
“It made me feel so good to see the kids’ excitement when we gave them a book,” said Vargas. “I hope it made their hospital visit a little easier and that they also enjoy the book at home.”
Perez agreed: “I know the kids and their families were going through a tough time being in the hospital, so I hope the books brought a little happiness and made them feel better.”
The remainder of the books will be kept by hospital volunteers and distributed to children as they visit the hospital.
“We are so very grateful that Kelsey and Chelsea felt inspired to give back to our littlest patients,” said Heather Rojas, manager of volunteer services at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital. “I hope they truly understand their books will be a ray of sunshine in the lives of our patients when they need it most.”
Both Perez and Vargas will graduate from George Bush High School on June 5th. Perez plans to attend Texas Tech in the fall and wants to pursue a career in accounting. Vargas will attend Schreiner University and will study nursing.
For more information on Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, visit www.memorialhermann.org or call 713-222-CARE (2273).