The question is usually asked regarding the sick or the unfortunate: What can I do to help? HIES junior Cory Philipson not only found a great answer, but also brought it to the school and took action.
The result is a club entitled “Send-a-Smile” – it’s composed of Upper School students who hand-craft personal caring messages and send them to hospitalized children to let them know that people are thinking about them and their well-being. The cards are then distributed to the kids at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta.
Philipson says she got the idea from her mother. “My mom happened to be at this event where this woman was getting a scholarship from Emory for Send-a-Smile,” Philipson said. “I thought that would make a great club at Holy Innocents’ and a great way to get service hours.”
Not one to idly let a good idea go to waste, Philipson pitched the idea to the school’s Activities Coordinator Terry Kelly. “He thought it was great so we went ahead with it,” the junior added. “We brought it out on club day and had some people sign up.”
Send-A-Smile, as a result, started in 2010-2011 with around 40 members. Now only a year later, it is up to 70-plus students.
The club meets around three times per year – in October they sent cards for Halloween and last weekend they gathered for Valentine’s Day. Next on the agenda are more cards to be sent at Easter. To date, the Philipson family brainchild has generated approximately 2,500 cards.
Looking ahead, Philipson doesn’t want the idea to die out after her graduation in 2013. “I’ve been looking around for an underclassmen to keep this going at the school after I’m gone,” she said. “It’s for a good cause and a great way to get service hours.”
Philipson, besides being an Honor Student, is also a varsity basketball cheerleader.
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