helping hands & hearts - fbla-pbl.orgrhs community service project helping hands & hearts 2...

HelpingHands&Hearts

RustonHighSchool,Chapter#617Louisiana

CommunityServiceProject2017-2018

RHSFBLA

ACH

TableofContents

PurposeoftheProject………………………………………………………….……….2

ProjectGoals&ServicetotheCommunityandItsCitizens………….…2

ResearchonCommunityNeeds…………………………………………………….3

PlanningandDevelopmentofProject……………………………………………4

ImplementationofProject……………………………………………………………5

PublicityReceived….…………………………………………………………………….8

ImpactandBenefitstotheCommunity………………………………………..10

EvaluationofProject…………………………………………………………………..10

Appendices………………………………………………………………………………..12

Submittedby:

JoannaHam,

ChristianPayne,

and

JaliaPayne

RHSCommunityServiceProject HelpingHands&Hearts

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“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I

lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in

the life of a child.” ~Forest E. Witcraft

Purpose of the Project

Each year in the United States, approximately 40,000 babies are diagnosed with a congenital

heart defect. Congenital Heart Defects, also known as CHDs, can affect the structure of a baby’s heart and

the way it works. It affects how blood flows through the heart and out to the rest of the body. CHDs can

vary from mild (such as a small hole in the heart) to severe (such as missing or poorly formed parts of the

heart). In fact, research shows that 1 in every 100 babies born will suffer with one of the 40 types of

congenital heart defects, with 25% of those requiring some form of invasive procedure within their first

year of life. Even more disheartening is the fact that little is known about the cause of CHDs and that

there is currently no cure for them. Interestingly enough, the funding for CHD research and cure

development is five times less than that of the funding for childhood cancer, even though the number of

patients with CHDs is double that of those with childhood cancer. These shocking numbers, along with

the knowledge that a number of children in our community, including those of faculty members at our

school, were patients of Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), a hospital specializing in CHD treatment

and development, prompted the Ruston High School FBLA Chapter 617 to take action to raise funds and

awareness for CHDs.

Project Goals and Service to the Community and Its Citizens

Our project team decided to name our project “Helping Hands & Hearts.” This project was chosen to

give back to a place that has given life and support to the children in our local community. The primary

goals of our project were to bring awareness about CHDs to the members of our community and to

express support for the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) patients by supplying them and their

families with needed items. Because our adviser and his family have spent extensive time on the CIVCU

floor at ACH, we had a unique insight into the needs of the families there. We also researched the needs

of the hospital through reviewing their website. Finally, we recognized that many people we knew,

whether students or adults, did not realize the extent or severity of CHDs. To address each of those issues,

the goals set by the project committee were as follows:

• Educate the Ruston / Lincoln Parish area about Congenital Heart Defects

• Educate the broader community of North Louisiana and Southern / Central Arkansas about

Congenital Heart Defects


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• Donate resources to CVICU patients and their families at ACH, with a special focus on serving

those that reside in Louisiana, including gift cards for travel expenses

• Supply goods requested by the hospital to donate to both the individual patients and to the

hospital’s toy room

• Express appreciation for the medical staff who assist the children on a daily basis

• Make a monetary donation to help support the patients at the ACH Ronald McDonald House, a

boarding house for non-local families of the patients

Helping Hands & Hearts provided gifts of support to the patients and families of the ACH CVICU,

as well as gifts of appreciation to the medical staff. The donated items included toys, art supplies, stuffed

animals, children’s books, and food items for the family day room, as well as special gift cards for

Louisiana families who must travel. In addition, the project promoted awareness of the ACH services

provided to local families, including those who are faculty members and students at our school. Finally,

the project provided education on congenital heart defects through multiple means over a two state area.

By raising awareness and increasing education in our local community, we in turn help those patients

from our city who use ACH for their medical care for congenital heart defects.

Research On Community Needs

The members of RHS FBLA first became aware of CHDs when the daughter of their adviser, Mr.

Lloyd Bruner, was diagnosed with a CHD prior to her birth. Her family was sent to Arkansas Children’s

Hospital to receive care. After seeing firsthand the struggle the Bruner family went through, the members

were inspired to take action to not only raise awareness but also to provide resources for families with

children in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU).

In researching why this project would benefit the community, we first had to define

“community.” We determined that there were two levels of community to consider: first, our local area of

Ruston / Lincoln Parish, LA, and second, the larger regional community of North Louisiana and Southern

/ Central Arkansas represented by the patients in the CVICU at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. We took

the larger community into consideration as well, because we recognized that members of our smaller local

community make up a part of the population at ACH.

The first step we took in researching was to talk to people we knew to determine the level of

awareness they had about CHDs. While some knew someone with a CHD or had limited knowledge of

them as a birth defect, most did not have in-depth knowledge. Furthermore, after conducting further

research, we learned that a number of children in our city, including several RHS students and former

FBLA members have been or are patients of ACH. We also found that at Ruston High School alone, at


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least three faculty members had children who currently deal with CHDs. Because most people don’t

discuss their children’s health conditions, we found this significant, as there are almost certainly others

that we don’t know about, as well as other classmates who suffer from CHDs. In fact, Ruston High

teacher Mrs. Heather Reeder told us that her daughter Hannah was diagnosed with a CHD at only one

week old. After being sent to ACH, they found Hannah would need open-heart surgery. Today, Hannah is

12 and healthy. Mrs. Reeder said, “I cannot express enough gratitude and appreciation for the staff of

ACH. The doctors and nurses were so helpful...in teaching us how to care for her. Although the reason for

being there was scary, we feel so blessed to have had Hannah’s surgery at ACH.” Mr. Bruner echoes that

sentiment: “The quality of care given to patients proves that the Arkansas Children’s Hospital is a place

of care, love, and hope…every patient is treated as if they are special. The bonds built among families and

caregivers are for life. A sense of community was felt, not just among the surprising number of families

from home (Louisiana), but with every family regardless of where they were from.” Because of the local

connections such as these that we found, we decided to work with Arkansas Children’s Hospital, as they

are the closest hospital to our community that specializes in dealing with children with heart defects. In

fact, its pediatric Heart Center and heart transplantation program are internationally recognized and

among the largest programs in the country.

With that decision made, the final research we did was to discover what needs the patients in the

CVICU might have. One of our sources was the ACH website. On the Volunteer Engagement page, we

found a link to a wish list of items for use with their patients. This enabled us to tailor our donation to

items that would be most beneficial. It also ensured that we spent our money most effectively.

Additionally, we checked with Volunteer Services at ACH to see what needs they felt the patients might

need most. This was also the department we used to research the number of Louisiana patients they serve

so that we could supply items specifically for them. We were limited in the information we could receive

because of privacy issues related to health care. However, we did find that some of the items we had

donated in the past were no longer needed because other groups were supplying those. Again, having this

information allowed us to select our items more effectively. Finally, we talked to people who have

actually had children at ACH to find out what they felt was needed. Mr. Bruner was very helpful in this

area as his family, unfortunately, makes regular trips to ACH for his daughter’s care. With all the research

done, we felt ready to plan and develop our project.

Planning and Development of the Project

The first step in planning the project was meeting with our adviser, Mr. Lloyd Bruner and with

our RHS FBLA officer team to discuss the details of the project at the beginning of the school year. After

we received approval and agreement on the specifics for the project, we received official approval for our


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community service project from our principal, Mr. Ricky Durrett. We then met again with all officers and

members to construct an implementation plan. At that point we were able to finalize plans, establish how

many members would be needed, and determine what resources would be required to make this endeavor

a success.

To raise money for our project, we decided to collect funds by selling 500 Congenital Heart

Defect Awareness bracelets, an activity that served two purposes: to raise funds and to bring awareness of

CHDs to our local community. Therefore, the chapter planned fundraisers and coordinated with Super 1

Foods and our local Wal-Mart to sell the bracelets. We also planned to have chapter members sell

bracelets individually to assist with funding of the project.

Next, we had to determine how the money we raised would be spent. We decided that three

groups required attention: 1) the patients and their families in the CVICU ward, 2) the outstanding staff

who work in the CVICU ward, and 3) the families who travel from Louisiana. With Mr. Bruner’s

assistance, we were able to determine the best items to provide, as he and his family had spent over six

months in the CVICU ward, including time in the room with their daughter, as well as in the family house

and the Ronald McDonald house.

Having planned how to raise the funds and what to purchase with the funds, we planned our

shopping spree and developed a plan to package and transport the items to the Arkansas Children’s

Hospital to visit and to deliver items for children and their families. After successful planning meetings,

we initiated implementation of the project by ordering bracelets and setting our fundraising plans into

motion.

Implementation of the Project

Part I: Fundraising

The “ACH Helping Hands & Hearts Project” went into action on October 20, 2017, as the chapter

began sales of the Congenital Heart Defect bracelets through its first community fundraising date.

Chapter members sold bracelets and accepted donations while providing information on CHDs. The

chapter had a successful day, earning $707.40. A second community fundraising day was held at Super 1

Foods on December 2, 2017. Once again, the community showed its support for our project by donating

$727.40 to help the children at ACH.

The second phase of fundraising began on November 16 with individual bracelet sales. More than

50 members participated in selling bracelets individually while talking to friends and family members to

share with them information on CHDs. In total, $1788.00 was raised. In fact, this phase was so successful,

the chapter sold all 500 bracelets that had been ordered. At the conclusion of all fundraising efforts, 62

members, or 94%, participated and helped to bring our grand total collected to $3219.80.


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We also included non-monetary fundraising by incorporating other local FBLA chapters into our

outreach. On December 16, 2017, our chapter hosted an FBLA Fall Leadership Retreat to help members

learn ways to become more successful in FBLA. The price of admission for this day-long event was a

children’s book or stuffed animal that would be donated to the CVICU patients at ACH. This event gave

us another opportunity to share about congenital heart defects and our ACH project. Forty-five FBLA

members from Ruston High School, Choudrant High School, Ruston Jr. High School, and I.A. Lewis

Elementary registered to attend. Each participant donated one of the requested items and received credit

for participating in a community service project.

Once we knew how much money we had to spend, the next phase of the program began with the

community service project committee determining what items needed to be purchased. They put together

a budget as shown below.

Part II: Purchase of Items

On the morning of Saturday, January 20, 2018, chapter officers shopped at Wal-Mart to purchase items

for the children and families in the CVICU. These included items that ACH had requested for the children

through their website, such as coloring books, crayons, coloring

pencils, musical toys, fashion dolls, and wooden puzzles. We also

purchased prepackaged, microwavable food items to supply the

patients’ families with meals during times when the cafeteria is closed

and to help them save money during a stressful time. Additionally, to

give our project a distinctly “Louisiana” flavor, we purchased 60 Wal-

Mart gift cards that the hospital will distribute to Louisiana families

Budget for ACH Project

Item Proposed Actual

Toys and Art Supplies $500 $529.72

Food Items for Family Day Room $250 $246.12

Snack Items for CVICU Medical Staff $250 $212.88

Wal-Mart Gift Cards for Louisiana Families

$1500 $1500

Donation to Ronald McDonald House $250 $250

CSP Team members with some of the items to be donated to ACH.


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who must travel for their children to receive care in the ACH CVICU. These gift

cards were then packaged into cards featuring a fleur-de-lis design that included an

encouraging message to families receiving them.

Part III: Delivery

On Tuesday, January 23, 2017, at 8:00 a.m., the delivery phase of our

project went into effect. All items were loaded for delivery to ACH. This included

five large boxes of toys, stuffed animals, books, and art supplies, two boxes of food items, and three gift

baskets of snacks for the CIVCU staff. Seven chapter officers, one of our parents, Mr. Bruner, and

daughter Casey Jane made the three hour drive to Little Rock to deliver the items we had purchased. We

were met by John C. Payne, a radio producer with Arkansas Radio Network, who conducted interviews of

our officer team to promote our donation as well as to get the word out in both Louisiana and Arkansas

about the missions and needs of ACH. The interviews were also packaged as part of a radio promotion for

ACH. In our interviews with Mr. Payne, FBLA officers were asked

about the mission of ACH and our project, including additional

information on congenital heart defects.

After lunch and in between interviews, we set about the

task of unloading all of the items that we were donating to ACH.

Due to HIPPA laws and the hospital’s attempt to prevent any risk

of infection or passing on illnesses, we were not able to personally

deliver the gift items to patients. However, Mr. Bruner had called

ahead and coordinated so that staff members from the CVICU

ward, as well as staff members from the ACH Volunteer services office, were present to accept the gifts.

Many of these staff members, including the chaplain, had been and continue to be involved personally in

the care of Casey Jane and shared memories of the Bruners’ multiple stays at ACH. They were all very

appreciative of the size and scope of our donation. Additionally, Volunteer Services shared with Mr.

Bruner that they would like RHS FBLA to assist with an ACH Foundation Fundraising Dance to be held

in our city next year. We are honored to be able to continue to partner with ACH to help children in need.

The RHS delegation ended the day with a visit to the local

Ronald McDonald House, where many of the families, including Mr.

Bruner’s, reside while their children are in the hospital. Because of the flu

epidemic, we were not able to tour the facility; however, we were able to

share our project with staff there. RHS FBLA subsequently made a

$250.00 donation to help support families who stay there.

RHSFBLAofficersdelivertoys,artsupplies,andfooditemsforthepatientsintheCVICU.

OfficersatRonaldMcDonaldHousewithMr.BrunerandCaseyJane.


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Part IV: Education of Local Community

While the delivery of physical items to ACH patients is an immediate, visible, and welcome

impact, our officer team wanted to do even more. They didn’t feel it was enough to help the patients

without educating the public more fully on CHDs and the need for patient support to produce long-term

change. Therefore, the Community Service Project (CSP) Team took steps to achieve that goal. First,

after some research, we discovered that national Congenital Heart Defect Week is observed each year

from February 7 -14, ending, fittingly, on Valentine’s Day. Next, we contacted Mayor Ronny Walker of

Ruston, LA to request that he issue a proclamation establishing observance of that week in Ruston. Mayor

Walker readily agreed and hosted the RHS FBLA officer team at his office on February 6, 2018 to present

them with the proclamation (Appendix D). Additionally, the project team contacted the office of

Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards to issue a similar proclamation to cover the entire state during that

week, a request that also was granted.

With those two proclamations in place, the CSP team contacted local radio

station KPCH to request a spot on its morning show to share with its listeners about

CHDs, their effects on families, and the project RHS FBLA had just completed to

help support children impacted by CHDs. Team members Joanna Ham and Jalia

Payne joined host Rick Godley on the morning of February 8, 2018 to share more

about CHDs and to ask for support from the public.

Another major element of the education aspect was to bring awareness to the

Ruston High School community. During Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week,

announcements were made through the school that highlighted a different CHD fact each day. Each fact

was followed by a call to action, whether it was to donate to a CHD program or to learn more about the

issue. The announcements also contained the tagline, “Know the facts…find the cure.” More than 1450

students and faculty were reached each of the six days that announcements were made.

Publicity Received

Our Helping Hands & Hearts project received a great deal of publicity through a number of

outlets as a result of a strategic publicity plan. Members targeted the local newspaper, radio stations in

both Louisiana and Arkansas, social media sites such as Facebook, and the use of school announcements

in broadcasting information.

Radio

First, upon arriving at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the officers in attendance were met by Mr.

John C. Payne, a news producer and reporter for the Arkansas Radio Network, who agreed to come and

interview the students about the ways they took action to aid Louisiana patients at the hospital, their

JoannaHamandJaliaPayne visit with RickGodleyonKPCH.


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experience at the hospital, and what they learned about Congenital Heart Defects. These interviews ran on

a series of stations across most of Arkansas and parts of North Louisiana on iHeart Radio, a network that

has more than 300,000 listeners per week.

In further radio interviews, two of the team members, President Joanna Ham and Vice President

Jalia Payne, participated in an interview hosted by Rick Godley at local radio station KPCH 99.3 to

further the awareness and education of CHD within our local community. The two discussed what

congenital heart defects are, how the Arkansas Children’s Hospital affects the North Louisiana

community, why the project was performed, and how the community could continue to help with the

project. Because it was the second day of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week, the officers were

also able to educate the listening audience about the need for support for the children and families living

with CHD daily. This was an effective outreach as KPCH has a weekly audience of 35,000 listeners in a

50 mile radius, which includes those living on the Louisiana / Arkansas border. In addition, the interview

was broadcast on Facebook Live, increasing the reach of their message.

Social Media

The students also requested that the Mayor of Ruston, Ronny Walker, sign a proclamation

declaring the week of February 7 – 14, 2018 as Congenital Heart Defect week for the city in hopes that

more citizens of the community would learn about CHDs. The RHS officers were able to go meet with

Mayor Walker to take a picture with the proclamation as well as to learn more about the city as a whole.

This picture and information on the proclamation were posted on the City of Ruston Facebook page,

which is followed by more than 11,000 people, as well as other social media for the city. Taking it a step

further, the students also secured a proclamation from Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana declaring

the same week to be recognized as Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week for the state. Additionally,

information and pictures related to the proclamations and the overall project were shared on Facebook by

those associated with the chapter.

Newspaper

To reach a different demographic, Chapter President Joanna Ham submitted an article about the

Helping Hands & Hearts project to local newspaper, the Ruston Leader. Published on February 15, 2018,

this article covered all aspects of the project, from implementation to delivery to education of the

community (Appendix B). It also featured the picture of the chapter officers with the mayor at the time of

the local proclamation. The paper claims a readership of approximately 15,000.

School Resources

Additionally, team members made effective use of daily announcements at school, by sharing a

daily fact on congenital heart defects, along with a call to action to help reduce CHDs. These

announcements reached more than 1450 students and faculty each day for six days.


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Impact and Benefits to the Community

• The project brought awareness and education to our local community about Congenital Heart Defects, which affects 1 in 100 children. Conservatively, we can document that more than 1700 people in our local community were reached with the message. However, when adding in the reach of the local newspaper with 15,000 readers and the radio audiences of more 335,000 listeners, as well as social media contacts, we believe information on CHDs, ACH, and our Helping Hands & Hearts project reached more than 350,000 people across two states. This impacted both our local community and our broader regional community served by ACH.

• The project brought awareness to the struggles and life of families with children who have congenital hearts defects.

• The project supported many families currently being served at ACH through gift cards, food items, and toys. A total of 162 items were donated for the patients either individually or for the toy room, in addition to 60 gift cards for Louisiana families, plus food items for the family day room.

• The project allowed members of our local community to come together for a single cause to assist Louisiana children who are patients at ACH through purchase of congenital heart defect awareness bracelets. These, in turn, bring more awareness when they are worn in public. More than 500 people purchased Congenital Heart Defect awareness bracelets or donated to support our cause.

• The project brought publicity from our local community of Ruston, LA to Little Rock, AR as well as other surrounding areas in North Louisiana that are currently being served by ACH.

• The project emphasized and publicized the message that everyone can do something to help someone in need.

Evaluation of Project

Our ACH Helping Hands & Hearts project was very successful. The chapter raised more than

$3200 in donations to help the patients and families in the CVICU at ACH with half of that directly

supporting Louisiana patients. In addition, our education campaign reached thousands of people through

direct contact, radio, newspaper, school announcements, and social media. Because we plan to continue

this project in the future we have identified several ways we can improve our impact.

1. Add CHD information cards to the bracelet fundraiser. This will give donors facts to share with others.

2. Record a PSA to distribute to radio stations for Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. The PSA can be sent to stations throughout Louisiana to coincide with the state proclamation.

3. Record a video for social media to promote our project. This will increase our reach and our donations so that we can do even more to help the CVICU patients.

4. Conduct a simple pre-test / post-test at Ruston High School to evaluate the effectiveness of our school announcements.


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Our project was so successful that not only did we collect more funds than anticipated, we also

continue to receive donations after further outreach. While some funds may be held for next year’s

project, we have decided that we will check with ACH periodically to see if they need more gift cards for

the Louisiana residents. When they begin to run low, we will replenish them as needed rather than allow

some families to go without. We will continue this as long as we have funds to do so. In fact, we have

already purchased an additional ten gift cards since our initial delivery in January.

An unexpected result of our project is that, during delivery of our donations at ACH, our adviser

was approached about the chapter assisting with an ACH Foundation Fundraising Dance to be held next

year in our hometown of Ruston, LA. We believe that this only emphasizes the fact that, although, not

located in our city, serving ACH also serves our local community. We are proud that ACH recognizes our

commitment to helping children with congenital heart defects and look forward to continuing our

partnership.

Pictured above and right: Children’s books and stuffed animals donated to ACH through RHS Fall Leadership Retreat.

Below: RHS officers interviewing with Mr. John C. Payne of IHeart Radio.

Right: Statue at ACH depicting a doctor helping a child, representing the hope and healing that ACH offers.

RHS members raising funds for their ACH project.

Left: Officers purchasing items to be donated to ACH.

Below: President Joanna Ham sorts through items to be donated.


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Appendix A: Coordination Letter

From: [email protected] Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2018 Subject: Arkansas Children’s In-Kind Donation To: [email protected]

Thank you for your support of Arkansas Children’s. We appreciate you thinking of our

patients and families, and we look forward to receiving your donation soon.

Listed below is confirmation of the information that you submitted. Please review and

bring this information with you when you deliver your donation. If you have questions

regarding the delivery or need to make an update, please contact the Volunteer

Services office at [email protected].

Confirmation #: 23603 Donation Description: Stuffed animals, children's books, toys, arts supplies, food items. Delivery Date/Time: 01/23/2018 01:00 PM Location: Little Rock

Thanks again for thinking of Arkansas Children's,

ACH Volunteer Engagement

[email protected]


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Appendix B: Published Article in the Ruston Daily Leader


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Appendix C: Thank You Letter from ACH

DearFutureBusinessLeadersofAmerica(FBLA)Chapter617,Onbehalfofourpatients,thankyouforyourkindandthoughtfuldonationofstuffedanimals,children'sbooks,toys,artssupplies,fooditemsandgiftcardstoArkansasChildren's.Yourgiftisvitaltoourmissionofmakingchildrenbettertodayandhealthiertomorrow.Yourgenerositymakeschampioningchildrenareality!AtArkansasChildren's,weknowthatcaringforchildrenisspecial.Wearetheonlysysteminthestatededicatedtoshapingthelandscapeofchildren'shealth.Thisdedicationrequiresspecialresourcestailoredtochildren'suniqueneedsandprofessionalstrainedtoofferexcellentspecializedcare.Onlywiththesupportofpeoplesuchasyoucanwechangechildren'slives!EverydayatArkansasChildren's,physicians,scientists,supportpersonnelandvolunteersworktoimproveandsavethelivesofsickandinjuredchildren.Yourgiftisessentialtotheworkwedo,anditissomeaningfultothefamilieswhowillbenefitfromyourgenerosity.Sincerely,JenniferSelig,CFREExecutiveDirector,VolunteerEngagementP.S.Becauseyoureceivednobenefitsinreturnforyourgift,youmaybeabletoclaimthefullvalueasacharitabledonationinaccordancewithIRSregulations.

Copyright©2017ArkansasChildren'sAllRightsReserved


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Picturedabove:ProclamationfromtheCityofRustonnamingFebruary7-14asCongenitalHeartDefectAwarenessWeek.

Picturedright:ProclamationforCongenitalHeartDefectAwarenessweekissuedbyLouisianaGovernorJohnBelEdwards.

Appendix D: Proclamations for Congenital Heart Awareness Week

PicturedLeft:

RHSFBLAofficerstakeapicturewithMayorRonnyWalkerofRustonafterthesigningoftheCityProclamation.

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