Story Published:
Jan 26, 2012 at 11:04 PM MST
Story Updated:
Jan 27, 2012 at 3:49 PM MST
BILLINGS - Throughout the week, students from various local middle schools have been making an impact on other people's lives, thanks to the "Two Roads" project that was started in 2011 by a teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School. On Thursday, students from St. Francis Upper School delivered the results of their project to sick kids that are definitely in need of a smile.
"Right off the bat, we thought, we were thinking of all different ideas, and we thought why not help children because we are children," said Harrison Fagg, who, along with seven other students, drew up a plan to pool their resources and purchase Nintendo Wii gaming consoles for the pediatric unit at St. Vincent Healthcare.
"We talked to Mr. Irion, Dave Irion, about getting the hospital to match, maybe, our $800 that we initially got from Mr. Jarvis," said Harrison.
David Irion is the Executive Director of the St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation, and he agreed to match the St. Francis group's donation, dollar-for-dollar, to support their existing efforts to fit every room in the Pediatric unit with Wii consoles.
"The ability to give the kids the Wiis and various games that they're used to at home, and some movies to watch, really makes their stay so much better," said Irion.
The St. Francis group used the money they received to buy the Wii consoles waiting for discounts before purchasing. As for the games and DVD movies, they negotiated with the school principal on a way to bring in the donations, while allowing students to violate a school rule.
"You have to wear uniforms to Saint Francis, and we had our principal agree that if you donated you would be able to wear jeans for a day," said Harrison.
In all, the St. Francis group brought in more than 100 movies and games, and both the group and St. Vincent say they will continue to work together towards putting Wii consoles in all pediatric rooms. Right now, 25% of the rooms, excluding the Pediatric ICU units, have the Wii consoles. The PICU units will not be fitted with the gaming consoles, said Irion.
The group's work might be over for now, but the teammates said it's been a great ride.
"All of us have worked really hard together, and it's just been a really fun and good way to give back to the community," said one teammate.
Each participant of the "Two Roads" project receive $100 to spend and "grow", with a final goal of making the biggest impact possible on the people in need.
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