In the Community: Hospital Schools M401, Bronx, NY

Each month, a member of the Westchester K-12 team selects a project to support on the DonorsChoose.org website. These projects are curated by the non-profit organization from submissions received from public school teachers all over the country. Chris Herrfurth, Production Manager, shares details of the project he selected in October.

Name/Location of School: Hospital Schools M401, Bronx, NY

Teacher’s Name: Ms. Krumm

Grade Level: 6-8

Subject: Literacy/Special Needs

Project description:  The project is called “A Journey Through Books“, and is intended to help students in a hospital setting who are being treated for various medical conditions ranging from asthma to cancer. These incredible students may miss school anywhere from a week to a month at a time. While they are hospitalized, it is the teacher’s goal to bring quality instruction to their bedside.

As Ms. Krumm explains:

These special warriors continue to persevere towards their academic goals on a daily basis despite facing extreme challenges that many other children do not have to endure. Through our program, students are engaged and active in their learning. This allows their transition back to school to be free of stress and anxiety. My students deserve access to the same educational materials as their peers while they are in the hospital. 

Why did you select this project? I chose this project for several reasons.

• I love that this program offers young students (many from low-income households) a chance to temporarily escape the realities of their sickness while at the same time helping to ease their transition back to regular class setting once their treatment is finished.
• Many of the books that my donation will go towards are titles that I remember reading and being inspired by when I was in school, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, and The Outsiders. I hope that others will be inspired by these works the same way I was.
• And finally, my donation helped bring them to their goal!

If the teacher has contacted you since their project was funded, please share their comments:

Dear Westchester K-12 Publishing Services,

I cannot express how grateful I am for your generosity. My students will be so excited to see the new collections of books we have to offer during their hospital stay. I’m sure they can’t wait to embark on their journey through books to take their mind off of the challenges they face. Thank you so much for funding my project and seeing how important literacy is for students of all ages.

With gratitude,
Ms. Krumm

How did it feel to be able to help fund this classroom’s project?

Being able to help Ms. Krumm reach her goal to provide such a great list of books to her students is an amazing feeling and I hope these books take her students on many inspiring and wonderful adventures! I can’t thank Westchester K-12 Publishing Services enough for the opportunity to donate!

There’s thousands of special public classroom projects submitted by teachers who want to give their students access to learning materials to improve their educational experience. Visit the DonorsChoose website today to contribute funding to a project that’s meaningful for you.