Santa Gets By With a Little Help From His Friends

In photo: Back row, Sterling Yanke, Stacey Seguro; Middle row, Kassandra Klinkowski, Lisa Dombeck, Santa, Alexa Grigely, Trisha Donnelly, Rylee Lachat, Katherine Oliver. Kneeling is Assistant Professor of Nursing Carin Tripodina.

Santa received a little help from his newest elves, members of AIC’s Student Nurse Association (SNA), at the Fifties Diner in Chicopee during the Center for Human Development’s Holiday Party for nearly one hundred children who are currently living in foster care.

The SNA sponsored a holiday toy drive for the children through the Center for Human Development (CHD). The on campus drive exceeded its goal with one hundred toys donated, eighty of which honored specific gift requests. In addition to toys and clothing, gift cards and personal care items were collected for those children who arrive at CHD without basic necessities.

In focusing this year’s fundraiser on foster children, the SNA members were inspired by one of their own. Born and raised in Springfield, AIC nursing student Benjamin Gonzalez was in foster care from the time he was 14 years old until he turned 18. When Ben’s mother struggled with a substance abuse problem and his father was too elderly to care for him, he found a loving foster home through CHD.

In addition to his foster family, Ben credits CHD with helping him achieve all his goals in high school. “They even paid for me to get a driver’s license”, he recalls. “They wanted me to do well and be successful.”

CHD enthusiastically embraced the SNA’s toy drive efforts and assisted in identifying the needs and wishes of the children in foster care. Both organizations wanted to ensure that each child will receive that one special gift hoped for this holiday season.

Paying it forward SNA style.