The smiles are well worth the miles, says CV Tech instructional coach and teacher Andrea Verser.
Each month during the school year, Surgical Technology students at CV Tech’s Chickasha Campus celebrate alongside Grand Elementary schoolchildren who have birthdays.
Pizza and cupcakes are served, courtesy of a Duncan-based non-profit, and each child is told they matter and that they are seen during lunch period, Verser said.
The Beautiful Day Foundation’s model has been franchised by dozens of other school districts who provide “Beautiful Days” for elementary and intermediate children throughout Oklahoma.
A recent Oklahoma Blood Institute fundraiser resulted in a $560 contribution from the Chickasha Campus to support the Beautiful Day Foundation’s mission.
Verser said students at CV Tech’s Cowan Campus in Yukon will also volunteer for similar activities at Redstone Intermediate, Yukon’s newest school in the Surrey Hills area.
Julie Simeroth, manager of financial services for the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, serves as the Beautiful Day liaison at Independence Intermediate School in Yukon. She said CV Tech’s volunteers are in for a treat that will warm their hearts.
“The goal is to make each child feel loved and cared for and appreciated,” she said. “We started doing this in 2019, and we soon found out some children never had a party before. With tears in their eyes, we had children asking if they could have a second piece of pizza.”
Surgical Technology is an adult-only program in which students learn to provide quality patient care before, during and after surgeries. Students experience a variety of surgical procedures and clinical settings. For more information, call and request to speak to a career counselor at (405) 224-7220.
