Teenagers Spread Holiday Cheer to Recovering Students

More than 40 students from Sleepy Hollow High School extended friendship, support and gifts to students recovering from life-threatening ailments over the holidays.

On Tuesday, December 22, the high schoolers visited Blythedale Public School to spread holiday cheer to kids who are receiving treatment at Blythedale Children’s Hospital. 

The only public school district in New York directly affiliated with an inpatient hospital, Blythedale allows for its students to receive intensive medical treatment while simultaneously continuing their educations.

“Having the Sleepy Hollow High kids come is one of the most special times of year,” said Blythedale superintendent, Ellen Bergman. “Many of our kids will have little interaction outside of family and healthcare workers this holiday season, so getting this personal attention from healthy teenagers is invaluable.”   

Blythedale School District accommodates for a student body ranging in grade level from pre-kindergarten to college-bound — with students who are in recovery from such treatments as chemotherapy and organ transplants.

“Sleepy Hollow has sent volunteers to Blythedale every Christmas for the past 30 years,” said Leana Peltier, a Sleepy Hollow biology teacher and co-coordinator of the trip to Blythedale. “I honestly think my students get as much out of the experience as the kids at Blythedale.”

Dressed as “Santa’s helpers” volunteers from Sleepy Hollow were escorted by a Tarrytown fire truck filled with presents for each child at Blythedale.  And Santa himself also made an appearance, in the form of retired high school teacher, Hank Conklin. 

“The kids all gathered around the windows to watch the fire truck pull up,” said Peltier. “And they were even more excited to see our kids dressed up in red Santa costumes.”

Rather than raise money to buy presents directly, Sleepy Hollow High School devised a unique system in which student volunteers distributed cards to friends and family—with each card designating an age and gender.  Then, recipients of the cards purchased presents to match those criteria.

“Sleepy Hollow also traditionally reserves part of its budget to buy a big-ticket item,” Bergman said. “This year they presented us with two digital cameras.” 

Sleepy Hollow’s jazz band and chorus also performed lively holiday songs for the kids, and then each of “Santa’s helpers” approached each Blythedale student individually to help him or her choose an appropriate present.

Bergman said, “Of course the presents are nice and the songs are nice, but what’s most important is the time Sleepy Hollow students spend with my kids.”