YMCA Summer Camp Students Lift Spirits of Sick Children with Jared Box Project

Fifteen years after it began in honor of a State College child who passed away from cancer, The Jared Box Project has brought its mission of lifting the spirits of kids in the hospital to all 50 states and four countries.

But the effort remains strong where it all started, and that was on display Thursday when more than 100 children in the State College YMCA Summer Camp presented the organization and Mount Nittany Medical Center with 100 of the plastic storage boxes filled with games, toys and activities.

‘It’s heartwarming again and again how this community rallies around and sees how important and special this project is, and that they’re willing to keep Mount Nittany kids in supply of the boxes,’ said Cindy Kolarik, director of The Jared Box Project. ‘It’s great to see the kindness in others.

The project started in 2001 after five-year old Jared McMullen, a student at Our Lady of Victory Catholic School, passed away from an incurable brainstem tumor. Kolarik, a mother of OLV students at the time, created the project to honor McMullen’s memory and help his fellow students cope with the loss. During Jared’s treatment, he often brought toys and games to the exam rooms that he would share with other kids who didn’t have any, and the project supplies hospitals with boxes to give to child patients.

More than 250,000 have been made nationwide.

‘It’s amazing to me that we’re in all 50 states,’ Kolarik said. ‘It’s a tribute to how people do really want to get involved. The project is easy to do, inexpensive and can be done anywhere, and there are hospitals everywhere. So it’s a project that is really perfect for spreading across the country. Locally it’s been great to see how again and again groups contact us to keep Mount Nittany in supply.’

Mount Nittany distributes about 100 of the boxes a month, and they are an invaluable gift that help both kids and medical professionals.

‘Whenever they get the Jared Box, they’re hurt, they’re injured, they’re scared. You give them this little shoebox with toys and activities and they’re eyes light up and they smile,’ said Yvonne Shank, a registered nurse in Mount Nittany’s Emergency Department. ‘Hopefully it helps them forget about why they’re in the emergency department for a little while.’

The boxes also help the nurses and doctors in their work to make a frightened child feel better.

‘It helps the kids stop crying for a little while, takes the fear away,’ said Mount Nittany ER nurse Marla Hockenberry. ‘They feel so much better. Anything to help a scared child.’

For the kids at the YMCA, the project was a perfect fit for their ‘Charity Week’ activity, as many already knew about The Jared Box, either from their own experiences or those of friends and relatives.

‘Each year we try to pick a charity for Charity Week that our kids know about’ said Kayla Scheibe, YMCA Child Care director. ‘Many of our kids have either received a Jared Box or know of a sibling or friend who was given one at the hospital. We spent about a week collecting donations and items to put in the Jared Boxes and then had a crazy assembly when we made them. It is a great way to help our kids learn the importance of giving back to their communities.’

The Jared Box Project sees donations from individuals, businesses, schools and community groups, many of whom make it a regular activity. Kolarik said kids are often enthusiastic about making the boxes because they can easily relate to the purpose.

‘I think it’s a great project for kids because they really can get it,’ Kolarik said. ‘Packing the boxes, they see the toys and can visualize themselves opening and playing with the toys. Because it’s a kid-friendly project they get how important it is and how easy it is that they can make an impact. Anybody can make one box, and it really lifts the spirits of kids in the hospital.’

For individuals and groups interested in getting involved with The Jared Box Project, the organization’s website at  www.thejaredbox.com provides all the information needed about the project and how to make a box, as well as printable labels and notecards. Find The Jared Box Project on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thejaredbox.