Student Nurses Lead Collection of Hats, Gloves for Center

Published 02.12.2016

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Demonstrating its desire to help keep the community healthy, the Student Nurses’ Association at Pennsylvania College of Technology recently led a hat, glove and scarf drive to benefit clients of The New Love Center in Jersey Shore.

The center provides weekday lunches, a food pantry and other services in the Jersey Shore area. It is a project of the Jersey Shore Ministerium, a group made up of pastors of the 34 Christian churches and directors of social help organizations in the Jersey Shore area.



Members of Penn College’s Student Nurses’ Association gather with a tree full of hats, gloves and scarfs to be donated to the New Love Center in Jersey Shore. From left are Emily L. Gardner, a nursing student from McClure; SNA President Monica A. Flexer, a nursing student from Williamsport; Treasurer Josalynn M. Heichel, a nursing student from Millerstown; and Secretary Chad R. Guiswite, a nursing student from Loganton.Throughout January, the Student Nurses’ Association collaborated with College Health Services to promote the drive to employees and students and fill a tree with the collected items. The college community donated enough to dress the tree in winter accessories not once, but twice. The students made deliveries to The New Love Center – one in mid-January and one in early February – with a total of 168 items or sets.

The idea was sparked by Chad R. Guiswite, a nursing student from Loganton, who had a dual desire to help the community and to extend the holiday season by keeping one of his favorite decorations – the Christmas tree – around a little longer in the College Health Services lobby. Guiswite is the secretary for the Student Nurses’ Association and a health promotion intern for College Health Services.

“It was a good project for winter, because there is a lot of need in the community,” said association President Monica A. Flexer, a nursing student from Williamsport.

It is one of several community-service projects the Student Nurses’ Association pursues throughout the year. In addition, the group has helped to pack boxes for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, and in March, the students are planning a greeting-card drive for patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Penn College offers associate and bachelor’s degrees for those seeking licensure as a registered nurse, including an online option for already-licensed registered nurses seeking to complete their bachelor’s degree, as well as an associate degree in health arts: practical nursing emphasis.

For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education and workforce development, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.