Tyrone Area High School Student Council members have been working to fill more than 60 Jared Boxes for hospitalized children.
The Jared Box Project began in 2001 at Our Lady of Victory School in State College to honor their classmate and friend, Jared McMullen. Jared was a cancer patient and always carried a backpack with toys and games to his appointments and always shared them with the other children.
When I was in the hospital for getting my adenoids removed I received a Jared Box, and as an 8-year-old, it made my day go by faster, so I decided to give back the gift of making my own Jared boxes for the kids
— Junior Olivia McMonagle
When Jared passed away, his classmates created boxes filled with toys for the patients at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. The project has grown and spread to all 50 states with more than 1,000,000 Jared Boxes delivered to over 500 hospitals.
One current Tyrone Student Council member is especially interested in this project because she once received a Jared Box when she was younger.
“When I was in the hospital for getting my adenoids removed I received a Jared Box, and as an 8-year-old, it made my day go by faster, so I decided to give back the gift of making my own Jared boxes for the kids,” said junior student council member Olivia McMonagle.
Student Council members purchased or collected donations for the boxes. Members filled them with five or more toys and activities to keep the children busy.
The boxes include crayons, playing cards, play dough, stickers, Hot Wheels, stress toys, mirrors, surprise mystery toys, coloring books, and many more fun items.
The Student Council created Jared boxes for age groups from toddlers to teenagers.
When members were done putting their boxes together, they wrote an uplifting and encouraging note for the child who would receive their box.
Student Council members also collaborated with the Middle School Student Council to make holiday ornaments for residents of the Cedarwood Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Tyrone.
All residents received a hand-made ornament. Recently, a few Student Council members were at Cedarwood and got the opportunity to see some of the residents displaying their ornaments.
In addition to making and gifting the ornaments, high school, and middle school Student Council members wrote uplifting messages on greeting cards.
