A group of nearly sixty students from John Reed Middle School in Redding visited Danbury Hospital on December 15, 2016, sharing their hearts and voices with patients, staff and visitors as they traveled throughout the hospital Caroling. Students brought joyous tears to the eyes of patients waiting to be seen at the Praxair Cancer Center and various units all through the campus. Everyone sang along as they sang classic holiday tunes like “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” and “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Angels We Have Heard On High” and “Jingle Bells.” Visitors enjoyed seeing the children laughing and singing as people passed by.
This year marks the 25th year John Reed Middle School has visited hospitals, Senior Centers and other facilities during the holidays. According to Musical Director, David Ebert, “this event has become a much anticipated annual event at Danbury Hospital over the years thanks to the support of administrators at the school each year to continue this important mission.”
Linda McGrory, Director of Patient Relations and Service Excellence at Danbury Hospital said, “The students were so very enthusiastic and worked together so well. It was truly heartwarming to see several students ‘take charge’ and organize their choral colleagues when visiting patient care areas.” This all speaks to the caliber of students in the John Reed Middle School program and Region 9 and I “It is important for our community to know of the fine character displayed by the school. After all, they are all ambassadors of John Reed Middle School in the community,” said McGrory.
Visitors commented that these students giving of themselves and their talents is such a valuable service for them at such a young age, it could very well shape a lifelong habit of serving others and how wonderful that the school promotes this fine practice of ‘giving to others’ at a time where our world is in such dire need of kindness and service.
“The joy that each of these students brought not only to visitors but to families anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones in surgery who happened to be sitting in the lobby while they were performing was just priceless”, said one visitor. While traveling through the lobby, I observed so many visitors and staff stopping to hear, all drawn to the location to find out where the beautiful sounds were coming from,” said Amy Faith Lionheart, Manager of Volunteer Services. “They stopped and had a touching moment in an otherwise very stressful day, particularly this time of year when the volume of patients in need of hospitalization tends to be so high. The smiles were endless.”
Zach Goldman, an eighth grader at JRMS and Redding resident said, "I love coming to Danbury Hospital to visit every year. We could tell by the looks on their faces the patients in the Praxair waiting room really appreciated our performance."
To learn more about how to become a volunteer at Danbury Hospital, or if you want your group to perform, please call the Volunteer Office at (203) 739-7384 or email Volunteer@wchn.org.
About Western Connecticut Health Network
Western Connecticut Health Network is the region's premier, patient-centered health care organization serving residents of Western Connecticut and adjacent New York. The organization is anchored by three nationally recognized hospitals, Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk Hospital, and their affiliated organizations. The continuum of care offered includes numerous medical practices and sub-specialties across the region, home health care services, a nationally renowned biomedical research institute, the Danbury Hospital & New Milford Hospital Foundation, the Norwalk Hospital Foundation and other affiliates. For more information, visit WCHN.org. Share your comments with us at Facebook.com/DanburyHospital; Facebook.com/NewMilfordHospital and/or Facebook.com/NorwalkHospital.
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