Ella Pascual not only wanted to meet a practical need, but she laced a community service project with compassion and encouragement.
The rising junior at Greenbrier High School has made two trips to the Georgia Cancer Center this month to present care packages to people going through chemotherapy. Bags filled with blankets, socks and adult coloring books also come with some love.
“I also decided to do letters of encouragement because I know that it’s tough going through this and having that kind of encouragement can make patients believe they can go through this a little bit more,” said Ella, who enlisted the help of other students in writing the letters for her Pack for Comfort project.
While the deliveries were in July, the project started earlier this year.
As a member of the state superintendent’s advisory council, Ella had to participate in a service project. At first, she thought about a project involving children, but she decided on something cancer-related because she’s had family members and friends who’ve had the disease.
Her teacher Crystal McDowell connected Ella to the Georgia Cancer Center and ultimately to Maryclaire Regan, community outreach coordinator.
“She led this whole project. She’s an incredible young person,” said Regan.
Ella collected items and raised money to purchase other items. She held a Valentine’s Day fundraiser and received some items by partnering with the FCA which held a basketball tournament and encouraged donations
She shopped sales and found great deals when a local Big Lots went out of business. Her grandmother made port pillows. Other items in the packages included tissues, lotions, activity books and pencils.
Her goal was “to collect 50 blankets and 50 pairs of socks, 40 care packages, 20 activity books, and 50 letters of encouragement for cancer patients in our community,” according to a news release from the cancer center. She “was able to surpass her goal and collected 100 of each item. With her hard work and support from her community, now she can provide these items to twice as many patients.”
Sarah Hoey, a cancer center nurse, thanked Ella for her efforts. She said many cancer patients spend long hours receiving chemo sometimes several times a week.
“We get excited when we see our patients receiving things. It means a lot to them that people they don’t even know are thinking about them and encouraging them,” she said.
In addition to the care packages, Ella also wanted to do something to teach younger children about the dangers of vaping, so she enlisted Regan’s help to make presentations.
Ella’s community service doesn’t stop with the care packages. She volunteers at Piedmont Hospital and hopes for a career in medicine one day. She’s involved in several organizations at school including the Beta Club, HOSA and FCCLA.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards and is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
