HAHS Looks to Support Doctors and Health Workers

by Carrie Watkins

Niskayuna’s National Art Honors Society club members are putting some joy into the world this Thanksgiving in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being restricted to virtual meetings, NAHS students will be collectively creating homemade postcards for the people who need the encouragement most this holiday season. By partnering with Ellis Hospital and the Kingsway Community senior living center, they hope to bring some cheer to the lives of doctors and nursing home residents in our area.

The National Art Honors Society is a service club for art students who want to make a difference in their community. While their bottle cap mural project was put on hold last year due to quarantine, they are coming out strong in the new school year. Already, the NAHS put together a Halloween scavenger hunt for students, complete with prizes. Students at the high school could take pictures of the illustrations made by the club's members and hidden throughout the, and show them to an art teacher after collecting them all to win. In the works is a collaborative Mona Lisa mural, with each club member creating a section of the original piece at home to be assembled and displayed in the school. The NAHS also plans to put together a Tree Wrapping installation. Soon, trees around the school will be wrapped in colorful yarn to bring joy to the scenery as the weather grows colder.

Doctors and nursing home residents are some of the groups most heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic. They are not only at risk for the virus, but face some of the greatest stress on their mental health. Since lockdown began, the patients at Kingsway have been unable to meet any visitors, and are largely restricted to their rooms. While COVID prevents us from seeing our loved ones, we can still show our support for them in other ways. Making a card or postcard is an inexpensive and thoughtful way to brighten anyone’s day. The NAHS not only will be making these cards themselves, but encourages other students to participate. You don’t need to be a great artist to bring some light into someone’s life.

For more information about the postcards and the NAHS as a whole, contact advisor Jane Romm at jromm@niskyschools.org or president Francesca Davis at dav21524@stu.niskyschools.org.To learn more about how to make a postcard, visit https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Postcard, and https://www.girlscouts.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gsusa/forms-and-documents/at_home/service-projects/Letter%20Writing%20Tips%20for%20Girls.pdf for writing advice.

Ms. Romm, when asked for a comment, instead deferred to a quote from the former president Barack Obama: “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”

To mail a postcard to the Kingsway Community, use:

323 Kings Rd, Schenectady NY 12304

ATTN: Rachel Caracciolo, Recreation Director

To mail a postcard to Ellis Hospital, use:

ATTN: Beth Frear

The Foundation for Ellis Medicine

1101 Nott St

Schenectady, NY 12308