RESIDENTS MAKE VALENTINES FOR HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN


For this Valentine�s Day, residents of the Quadrangle made �Letters of Love� for children hospitalized in Texas Children�s Hospital. Eleven Resident Assistants (RAs) took turns staffing a table stocked with construction paper, pipe cleaners, glue, markers, crayons, glitter, stickers and scissors in the Oberholtzer Hall lobby during the week before Valentine�s Day. Residents stopped by in their spare time and made 136 cards to cheer up sick children.

RA Jessica Myers spearheaded the campaign. She said that some of her favorite valentines were �six incredibly pretty cards all referencing Doctor Seuss.� Myers said they had �One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish� on the outside and a similar valentine rhyme on the inside. The mystery donor of these valentines delivered them to a Desk Assistant (DA) at 1 a.m. who put them in Myers� mailbox. Myers said another favorite was the last card made.





�Our final card maker sat at the table as we cleaned up gluing the last few bits to her card. On the outside was a little boy on a sunny day, all cut out of construction paper and pasted on the card, stating �It's Valentine�s! I got you something!� and on the inside the same little boy was crushed by a hundred different colored hearts, stating that he �Didn't know your favorite color.� It was worth waiting for the last minute for that card!�

This is the second year that residents have created Valentine�s Day cards for Texas Children�s Hospital. The women at the donation center recognized Myers from last year, and were excited to receive more cards from her.

RAs are required to present six programs a semester to their floors/areas. They can present them individually or in conjunction with other RAs. Each program must represent a different aspect of the SHASTA programming model, where each letter stands for a different type of programming or development:

S = Self/Spiritual (Interpersonal/Intrapersonal)
H = Health, Safety and Wellness
A = Academic
S = Service
T = Togetherness
A = Advocacy

The �Letters of Love� campaign was an example of a Service program. RAs strive to make their programs useful, informative and fun.

For more information about RA programming, contact Mark Vitek at 713-743-6026 or go to Room 250, Oberholtzer Hall.