OT Students raise money – and awareness – for child services
12.08.2011
Almost 50 Bay Path Occupational Therapy (OT) graduate students are in the middle of a semester-long attempt to raise money and provide resources to two child service programs in the area: Horizons for Homeless Children and the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
The graduate students chose the child-centered service organizations for their outreach project, voting on Horizons for Homeless Children and DCF based on the wide-reaching impact both organizations have on children in the area. Lori Vaughn, Chair and Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, says the students get involved with the service project for a number of reasons. “The founding philosophy of the OT profession is to treat the whole person where he/she lives, works and plays. So providing community-based learning supports both the roots of the profession as well as its inherent philosophy.” Vaughn also explains that the graduate students are honoring Bay Path College’s tradition of community involvement and service.
Half of the students are raising money and creating developmentally appropriate materials for the play spaces built by Horizons for Homeless Children (HHC). HHC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational and fun spaces for homeless children and their families in shelters, day cares, and community centers. In addition to raising money, Bay Path graduates have been creating packets of activities for each play space. The packets are filled with materials and guides for how families can learn, play, and interact with one another. Karen Sanderson, a second-year OT grad student says they worked hard to create activities that brought parents and children together during playtime. “A lot of parents don’t know how to interact with their children, which sounds basic, but they don’t have the skills.” Sanderson’ group created specific games and activities that encouraged dialogue and bonding time. The fundraisers, which included a bake sale, a raffle, and a restaurant night, has garnered more than $900 in donations on top of the toy donations and the play activities the students created. “Locally there are so many kids that need this help,” Sanderson says. “I have three children and it makes me sad to think there are so many local kids that are having these problems. We take for granted what to how to interact and play with kids but it is so important.”
The other Bay Path graduate volunteers, another group of about 25, are collecting donations and creating Care Kits for children who have been removed from their home and/or are victims of trauma. When a child is removed from a home by DCF, they often leave with only the clothes on their backs. The Care Kits, designed to be age-appropriate, are filled with personal care items, toys, games, books, and other materials that help make the transition into a shelter or foster home more comfortable. Essentially, the items in the Care Kits are often the only personal possessions a child may have upon entering a new living environment.
The Bay Path students have collected a number of store gift cards and specific toys or materials. They are working hard to collect as much as possible for these organizations before the end of their semester.
Interested in making a donation? Contact Lori Vaughn, Bay Path College’s Occupational Therapy Department Chair, at lvaughn@baypath.edu or 413.565.1012
For more information about either organization, visit www.horizonsforhomelesschildren.org or visit the Mass.gov website and follow links for the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Children and Families.
