Quaker Valley Students Give Back to Leetsdale Senior Citizens

Instead of being on the receiving end, a group of special needs students from spent Monday afternoon giving back to the local community.

Ten students sat around the tables in the community room at the , working to stuff 70 gift bags with goodies, crafts and other special treats. One of the main gifts dropped inside each of the bags was the decked-out Hershey candy bars the students spent time designing at school. The candy bars are dressed as snowmen, penguins or reindeer and sport scarves, hats and red noses to make them especially festive and fun.

Leetsdale Parks and Recreation board members delivered the gift bags Monday night to residents living in the borough high rise, an idea that was formulated by Paula Scimio, chairwoman of the board. After several meetings to figure out the logistics, the group made calls to get donations and samples and enlisted the help of Quaker Valley students to get the community working as a team, board members said.

Cassie Bajsec, volunteered Monday, while her son, David Bajsec, and other classmates worked to stuff the bags until they were all filled. Then they enjoyed pizza for lunch and other tasty treats. 

When asked if he had fun after the project ended, Stephen King responded, “Yes.”

Jason Brindza, who teaches life skills at the high school, said the winter service project is one of several the students will complete throughout the school year.  

“Hopefully we can do this for the residents every year. That would be fun,” Brindza said.

Quaker Valley student Laura Scimio, who also volunteered, said having the gift bags dropped off can be a joyous occasion for some high-rise residents who might receive few visitors during the holidays. In addition to the gift bags, the  rec board delivered homemade scarves to the residents.

Brindza said past charitable projects have included volunteering at , sewing blankets for Animal Friends and putting on a Mardi Gras party for senior citizens at the high rise.

He said the projects are fundamental to the students’ lessons. Each project takes about four to five steps to complete, allowing students to get really creative with them, he said.

Brindza said his students decorate candy bars every year and designate the proceeds raised toward supporting a new charity. This year, proceeds will benefit Animal Friends. Brindza said 900 decorative candy bars have been sold in support of the animal shelter, helping to raise $450. Students will present the donation to Animal Friends in January.

To learn about other holiday service projects by Quaker Valley students, click here.

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This story was updated at 9:30 a.m. with a correction. An earlier version of this story said a high school student organized the effort, when in fact it was the Leetsdale Recreation Board. Patch regrets the error.