Lions District 14-D recently assembled 160 Jared Boxes for distribution to children and youths in the local area.

The Jared Box Project was inspired by a kindergarten boy named Jared from State College. Jared had an incurable brain stem tumor and a dream to bring smiles to the faces of other sick children. Jared noticed that the other children waiting for appointments seemed frightened and sad, so he asked his mom if he could share the toys from his backpack with the other kids. To honor Jared after his death, classmates at Our Lady of Victory School and Cindy Kolarik founded the Jared Box Project. Kolarik serves as executive director.

After hearing about the project, Lions District 14-D decided to make Jared Boxes its service project for this year. District governor-elect Deb Keeports chaired the project. She recruited fellow Lions Club members Deb Bagnoli, global services chair, and Betty-Jo Bowers, childhood cancer coordinator, to help her lead this effort with a primary goal to aid children in Lebanon and Lancaster hospitals.

On June 4, members of Lions Club District 14-D gathered to assemble the boxes at the Willow Street Lions Club Community Center. Tables were lined with supplies, with items for girls on one side of the room and items for boys on the other side. The volunteers lined the boxes with glittery tissue paper and a variety of items.

The items included in the boxes for elementary children were Uno and Old Maid cards - which were Jared's favorite toys - socks, water bottles, coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, and squishy toys. The boxes also included activity sheets and a personalized, handwritten note for each child. The outsides of the boxes were adorned with stickers.

For tweens with behavioral issues, the Lions Club made boxes with Squishmallows, origami kits, playing cards, and word searches.

The items for the boxes were purchased with a District and Club Community Impact Grant from the Lions Club International Foundation.

Keeports, Bowers, and Bagnoli delivered the Jared Boxes to the Penn State Health Children's Lancaster Pediatric Center on June 10. Leigh Anna Hilbert and a group of medical care providers greeted the Lions Club members and expressed their gratitude for the Jared Boxes. They also expressed interest in receiving more boxes in the future and the possibility for a partnership with the Lions Club for other community service projects. The Lions Club also planned to deliver boxes to Lancaster General Hospital and WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon.