Photo Provided Hills Elementary School is once again supporting patients undergoing treatment at the Tony Teramana Cancer Center with the annual chemo care bag collection. A series of items are currently being collected and will be distributed this spring. Pictured, from left, are first graders Ayden Singleton, Colton Sexton, and Jackson Stewart with a few of the bags.

MINGO JUNCTION — Students at Hills Elementary are showing cancer patients how much they care by coming together once again for the annual Chemo Care Bag project.

For the past 11 years, Indian Creek Local School District Orton Gillingham Specialist Sarah Hibbits has organized a collection of items that offer some extra support for local residents undergoing treatment. Snacks, cards, journals and personal care items are just a few of the goods which fill vibrant tote bags and are distributed to the Tony Teramana Cancer Center in Steubenville. Hibbits said the service-learning project has resulted in thousands of bags being shared while students also add personal messages of hope and affirmation to help patients get through their darkest hours.

The collection began after information was sent home with pupils on Feb. 9 and among the goodies being accepted are individually packaged snacks – cookies, crackers and granola bars, saltines, bottled water, Gatorade and electrolyte drinks, chewing gum, bags of hard candy, mints, suckers and protein items including bars and shakes and tuna or chicken lunch kits.

Personal health items include chapstick, lotion, Biotene products, TheraBreath dry mouth lozenges, Queasy Drops, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, tissues, Sea Band anti-nausea wristbands, reusable cups or water bottles, hats and head scarves, slipper socks, small blankets and throws, while recreational goods being collected include puzzle books (word searches, crossword puzzles, and Sudoku), pens and pencils, journals, notebook, pocket calendars, playing cards, puzzles, fidget toys, or board games.

Monetary and gift card donations are also being taken and Hibbits said students are also adding at least one handwritten card. Hopes are to have the bags prepared for distribution later this spring.

“As of right now, the collection will end on March 13 but it typically needs to be extended for at least another week,” she added. “Each year has been a little bit different, and it depends on the availability of the staff at the Tony Teramana Cancer Center. In past years, we gathered the students in the Hills Elementary gym and presented the care bags with a big reveal.”

Last year, high school students who participated in the inaugural event were invited back for the 10th anniversary and helped fill the bags and deliver them to the facility in Steubenville. Hibbits said the project began as a service-learning program for her second-grade class at the former Wintersville Elementary School, then she carried it on after transferring to Hills in 2019. It continued as a second-grade project until 2024 but has since expanded to a building-wide activity.

“Since this is a huge undertaking, with a lot of moving parts, and a lot of items are needed to create the bags, it was a welcome change. Many hands make light work, and we were able to complete this project as a school-wide community,” she continued. “I have always said, if you ever have an opportunity to help others, take it. What may seem like a small thing has an enormous impact. I am so proud of my students, school, colleagues, and community for keeping this project going year after year. It may sound strange, but this project gives hope to the hopeless and shines some sunlight down on their gray days.”

She noted that it not only brings joy to the people undergoing treatment but also teaches students about kindness and empathy, and especially that one small act can change someone’s life.

“We receive thank you cards and calls each year and the resounding response that, ‘You have no idea how much your bag meant to me.’ Some include messages to specific students whose cards were received in the bags. These students are floored when they receive personal messages and they know that their words were received and that their kind words lifted the spirits of another person,” Hibbits commented. “This project has also impacted other communities. I spoke with a person who was touched by our project. Her daughter is a teacher in Florida, and she was going to suggest that her daughter’s school do the same. Our project has also inspired other local groups to help out the cancer center by sending bags and other essentials to the patients.”

Hibbits said service-learning projects had been implemented into Wintersville’s curriculum and at the time students benefitted such causes as the Jefferson County Humane Society and a local nursing home through donations and care baskets. One year, they opted to do something different, and while Hibbits’ mother had undergone chemotherapy at Teramana Cancer Center, she shared concerns that other patients were facing their treatments alone. This inspired Hibbits and her class to take the initiative and show their support with the care bags.

“My mom was fortunate in the aspect that she always had someone with her at every appointment, every surgery, and every treatment. She told me that she would see people get out of cabs or step off buses by themselves at the cancer center and it broke her heart. Cancer already makes you feel fearful and lonesome, which is why it is so important to be surrounded by those who love you,” she recalled. “When my mom was first diagnosed, I put together a care basket for her, filled with all sorts of items that she may need during treatment. The conversation with my mom stayed with me and lit a fire. I wanted to make sure that these patients knew that they were loved, supported, and cared for. The next day at school, I proposed my idea to the other teachers in my grade level, and they were instantly on board.”

Fifty chemo care bags were created that first year with so many remaining items that 100 bags were completed the next year, and since then about 200 bags have been distributed annually. Hibbits said the project holds even more significance following her own cancer diagnosis in 2024.

“The impact of the bags also took on a new meaning. A cancer diagnosis puts you on an island of uncertainty. Your ‘normal’ life comes to a grinding halt and the future is uncertain. There is a lot of waiting and praying–waiting for doctors, waiting for scan results, waiting for lab results, waiting for treatment, waiting for answers, praying for good results, praying for answers, praying for treatment to end, praying to live,” she said. “These bags are a way to show others that we see them and we care. They may be alone physically, but they are surrounded by love in spirit. Last year, I also included a personal letter explaining how this project came to be, my cancer experience, and extending my well wishes and love. This project continues each year because of the overwhelming generosity of our community. Some donate in memory of loved ones, some donate because their loved ones received bags and they saw how much the bags were appreciated, and some people have donated since our inaugural year, making sure that we get all our needs met.”

Hibbits said she is overwhelmed by how the project has helped others navigate through their ordeal.

“Most importantly, though, this project continues because of the positive feedback. The sincere words I hear from those during their most vulnerable times, and the Teramana nursing staff who carry our bags with tears in their eyes, tell us that what we do matters. This is a community effort, a community project, and it would not happen without everyone working together for a common goal. One community. One goal. We hope to spread positivity and joy to all.”

Anyone interested in giving monetary donations or items may send them to Hills Elementary School, c/o Sarah Hibbits, 2281 Wilson Ave., Mingo Junction, Ohio, 43938. For more information, call the school at (740) 283-2479 or email Hibbits at sarah.hibbits@iclsd.org.