Danville Primary School offers Geisinger workers tokens of gratitude
The other schools in the district will each take a turn gathering goodies as well: Liberty Valley Intermediate School during the month of March, Danville Middle School during April and Danville High School finishing the campaign in May.
School nurse Deann Kinsey, who works at the primary and intermediate schools nurse was the inspiration behind the appreciation campaign. She approached a few of the teachers, including June Heeter, who helped get the campaign started. Then district superintendent Ricki Boyle took notice and decided to extend the project throughout the school district.
“We felt that involving our students in a program to show our gratitude for our local frontline healthcare workers would help them to feel connected to our community and give them an opportunity to express kindness and thoughtfulness,” Kinsey said.
The primary school’s collection was delivered to Geisinger Medical Center on Friday, March 5. Students were happy to work on the project and spent time making cards, mini-posters and letters to thank Geisinger employees for all they are doing during the pandemic.
“We are thanking them because they are going through a lot. They are trying to help others not get sick. They are trying to help people not die from COVID,” said first-grader Avery Foust. “This project has taught me to help more people in the world, to donate more and to give thanks.”
Staff were touched by the effort and was happy to accept the donations.
“This is such a kind gesture and is much appreciated by the staff,” said Justin Maxfield administrative fellow at Geisinger Medical Center, who coordinated the delivery and pickup of the donation. “Having a little one in kindergarten at the school, I’ve been so impressed, and this just adds to the sentiment.”
About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
