St. Theresa School brings smiles to doctors, elderly
The students of St. Theresa School, Palatine, have been very busy not only with their e-learning, but also with giving back to the community.
Shortly after the stay at home guidelines were put in place, a group of St. Theresa teachers and staff formed a team to coordinate different ways to honor our local heroes.
First, students recognized essential workers in their community by hanging signs in their windows or leaving positive messages for their local postal workers, sanitation workers and grocery store employees.
Second, students created heartfelt messages, quotes and pictures for the residents at St. Joseph's Home for the Elderly.
Olivia Youman, a St. Theresa School alumna and employee at St. Joe's, put together several posters of the cards and pictures the students created. These posters are displayed and rotated throughout the home so all residents can enjoy them.
"It truly has brightened their days to see how the St. Theresa School students so lovingly created these cards for them," said Diana Olsen, development director for St. Joseph's Home for the Elderly.
Shortly thereafter, a St. Theresa parishioner and a nurse at Northwest Community Hospital reached out to St. Theresa after seeing a post on social media of what the students did for the residents of St. Joseph's. The students quickly created cards, quotes, poems and drawings for the doctors, nurses and hospital staff.
"Thank you so much for coordinating the pickup and drop off for Northwest Community Hospital. I was overwhelmed by the amount of artwork and 'thank you' cards from the students of St. Theresa!"
The heartwarming contributions were used to create a wall of art outside the Emergency Department break room.
"As I worked to hang each item this morning, staff stopped to look, comment and take their own pictures for keepsake. I witnessed so many smiles as they walked by to start their day," said Mary Koch, Northwest Community Hospital, ER Department.
"The colorful images and messages made such an impact, our charge nurse said she would make one of the quotes her daily affirmation; 'When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.' How delightfully profound," Koch said.
"Our days will be brighter because the students, teachers, parents and staff took the time to turn an idea into a beautiful gesture of love and gratitude to our staff at Northwest Community Hospital. We are forever thankful."
Finally, St. Theresa School families took up a collection for the Palatine Township Food Pantry and Journeys|The Road Home, a nonprofit agency that provides shelter for the homeless. These donations were recently delivered.
"I couldn't be more proud of our St. Theresa School family. They have worked together during this pandemic, while keeping far apart," said Mary Keenley, principal at St. Theresa School.