Third and fifth graders from Pulaski Road School with teacher Gina Pellicani, right, teachers aide Susan Pospisil, left, and Mather Nurse Stacey Jolley, RN, rear center.
By Nancy Fischetti
When Gina Pellicani’s third grade students at Pulaski Road School in East Northport said they wanted to do something to help other kids, the teacher knew exactly where to turn.
“My sister used to work at Mather and she told me about their HUGS program,” said Pellicani of the effort that brings stuffed toys to pediatric and elderly patients at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. “The kids were really excited.”
They raised funds through their own version of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” Through voluntary admission donations, the youngsters raised nearly $500, with which they purchased 24 teddy bears and a dozen stuffed tigers — the school’s mascot — and donated the remainder to the HUGS program.
New stuffed animals or donations to purchase them may be sent to the HUGS program care of Dorothy Perricone, Director of Volunteer Services, John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, 75 North Country Road, Port Jefferson, NY 11777. For more information about HUGS or other volunteer programs at Mather Hospital, call 631-476-2749.
Nancy Fischetti works in the public relations department at Mather.