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| Olean General Hospital employees, from left, Marika Burke, Patrick O’Connell, Isaac Green, Helen Layman, Fran Owens and Janene Dunn, fill backpacks which will be distributed to local students in grades K through 5 in area school districts. |
Olean General Hospital, a member of Upper Allegheny Health System, packed 200 backpacks this week with a variety of school supplies which will benefit area students in grades K through 5 this school year.
The donated backpacks will be distributed to students who
might otherwise go without necessary school supplies. In its seventh year, the
program benefits students in Olean, Delevan, Friendship, Hinsdale and Salamanca
schools. Students receiving the backpacks will find items such as pencils,
erasers, scissors, paper, crayons, rulers, glue sticks and folders to start the
school year. All items are donated by employees at OGH.
“The backpack program is ‘near and dear’ to our hospital
staff as they want to assure that area elementary students are able to start
their school years with the support and supplies that will help them succeed academically. Our staff members don’t
believe that school children should have to go without needed school supplies
because their families may not be able to afford them,” said Timothy J. Finan,
president, chief executive officer, UAHS, OGH, Bradford Regional Medical
Center.
The backpack program is part of the hospital’s Community
Connections initiative, a program where employees volunteer their time to
educate the community on a variety of health and wellness issues to promote
healthier lifestyles and address community health, safety and social needs in
the hospital’s service area. Other Community Connections programs held
throughout the year include a Super Puffs asthma camp, Buddy’s First Visit, sun
safety, SafeSitter®, car seat safety, and friends and family CPR.
