Warren East High School FCCLA Chapter bags $7,500 Grant for ChemoComfort

In a significant development that underscores the philanthropic spirit of the younger generation, Warren East High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky witnessed its Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Chapter receiving a $7,500 grant from Lead4Change. The grant aims to support the community project and nonprofit initiative, ChemoComfort.

Students at the Forefront of Social Change

The grant awards ceremony shone the spotlight on the school’s FCCLA Chapter and their steadfast commitment to making a difference within their community. Junior Taylor Mills commented, “We love helping our communities and making them grow, that’s really what we focus on. We strengthen families and society,”

These promising students are encouraged to identify a problem in their community and propose creative solutions. The ChemoComfort initiative, aimed at enhancing comfort for chemotherapy patients, is a testament to their innovative thinking.

ChemoComfort – A Step Towards Compassionate Healthcare

As part of the ChemoComfort project, students seek to design chemo port shirts, a creative solution to make the chemotherapy process less discomforting for patients. Senior Jamie Phelps elaborates, “You just unzip the zippers at the collar and the flap folds down, revealing the port. This allows patients to receive their treatment easily.”

Community Feedback and Future Plans

The community’s response has brought encouragement and joy to these industrious students, particularly when they delivered the shirts to the nurses at the medical center. Phelps shares, “The joy on the nurses’ faces when I said this is our donation and why we did it was unbelievable.”

Inspiration for this project draws from personal experiences within the school community. The school’s art teacher Andrea Brown, a recent breast cancer survivor herself, underscores the need for such initiatives. She stated, “One thing that a lot of people don’t think about and that I’d never thought about is how to make chemo comfortable because there’s really no such thing.”

The grant money has planned usage to purchase camera equipment and fund travels, with an aim to increase nationwide awareness about their project. They also aspire to gain more funding and expand the project scope. Phelps added, “This is truly making a difference and affording these people [the things they need] just to be comfortable.”

Getting Involved

Those interested in availing a chemo shirt or contributing to the cause can reach out to the FCCLA Chapter or visit their Facebook page. More information about Lead4Change and their initiatives can be found on their website, lead4change.org.

This inspiring endeavour by the Warren East High School FCCLA Chapter highlights the importance of community involvement, creative problem-solving and compassionate healthcare, setting a benchmark for others to follow.