A group of students from the Lenihan Intermediate School student leadership group Ricochet donated 1,387 books to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital on April 17.
A student leadership group at Lenihan Intermediate School held a highly-successful book drive and was able to donate 1,387 books to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital patient library and free book cart program.
Emily Manis, a sixth grader at Lenihan, brought up the idea of doing a book drive for a service project for Ricochet (the Lenihan student leadership group) this year. Her goal was to collect 800 new or gently-used books to donate to children’s hospital in Iowa City. The group was able to surpass the goal by more than 500 books.
Lenihan teachers Diane Simpson and Raul Arevalo took 12 Lenihan Ricochet students to the hospital in Iowa City on April 17 to deliver the books.
“The students were quite impressed with the size of the hospital and were moved by the impact the donation of these books could have on young patients,” Simpson said.
Lenihan students who participated in the delivery trip were Brealyn Anderson, Alyssa Jordan, Emily Manis, Norah Wilson, Kathryn Johnson, Sophie Younkin, Lilly Duff, Diana Espinoza, Eli Thiessen, Maggie Augustine, Paige Wertzberger, and Taylor Jones.
Students were able to tour the hospital’s library and museum, meet a service dog and its handler, meet the director of the volunteer program, see the Life Flight take off from the helipad and take in the view from the rooftop patio.
“It was quite a day full of memories for them,” Simpson said.
