King's Baseball Team Delivers 757 Jared Boxes To Chronically Ill Children at Geisinger Hospital
King's baseball players and special needs students from the Pocono Mountain School to Work Program delivered Jared Boxes to children at Geisinger and spent time with Garrett (right), helping him with a puzzle and other items he received in his Jared Box
3/4/2010 3:17:02 PM
MARCH 4, 2010
KING'S BASEBALL TEAM DELIVERS 757 JARED BOXES GEISINGER HOSPITAL
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College baseball team made an impact on numerous chronically ill children on Thursday as the Monarchs delivered 757 Jared Boxes to the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital for Pediatric Services in Geisinger Hospital, Wilkes-Barre.
King’s involvement with the Jared Box Project was spearheaded by Monarch head baseball coach Jerry Greeley, who also doubles as a life skills support teacher in the Pocono Mountain School District. Greeley brought the program to King’s and combined with students at Pocono Mountain, 757 Jared Boxes were collected and delivered to Geisinger to be distributed to children in the hospital, while others will be delivered to Geisinger Hospital in Danville.
A Jared Box is a shoebox size plastic storage box filled with small gifts, toys, cards, puzzles, and games. Each box contains items selected for a specific age and gender. The boxes are delivered to hospitals and are given to chronically ill children. The Jared Boxes provide a special diversion for young patients as they receive chemotherapy and other medical treatments for a wide variety of illnesses.
The Jared Box Project was instilled to lift the spirits of children who suffer from chronic illnesses. The boxes symbolize the importance of play and are filled with well wishes, hope, and love. King’s baseball team collected nearly 180 Jared Boxes for its latest delivery and approximately 30 players participated in the actual delivery to Geisinger. The Monarchs were joined by special needs students from the Pocono Mountain School to Work Program in delivering Jared Boxes to children at Geisinger.
The Jared Box project was started in 2001 by the children at Our Lady of Victory School in State College to honor their classmate and friend, Jared. Jared was a young boy who battled cancer with courage after being diagnosed with an incurable brainstem tumor in 1999. At just five years old, he demonstrated faith, wisdom and compassion for others.