This month, Ross Medical Education Center in Fort Wayne, IN was able to partner with an important local organization. Kate’s Kart was founded in 2008 in Fort Wayne after the passing of “Baby Kate” Layman. The Layman family called upon community members to help them fulfill their dream of providing new books to hospitalized children in the area. The community responded enthusiastically, and in June 2008, the first “Kate’s Kart” rolled through the halls of Lutheran Hospital, handing out books to parents and children. Since then, the organization has grown rapidly; as of April 30th, 2014, Kate’s Kart has distributed over 77,000 books at 16 hospitals and has over 100 volunteers helping on a regular basis. Other events held by the organization include the “Fill the U-Haul” event, the Annual Ice Cream Social, and the 10,000th Book Celebration.
Kate’s Kart is an organization that has touched the life of Jessica Le, Assistant Director of Education, personally; her son Corbyn has received several books from Kate’s Kart since it began. After seeing a call for donations on the Kate’s Kart Facebook page, Jessica knew that the Fort Wayne Campus could help. The campus held a “Crayons for Kate’s Kart” drive for the month of August. Staff, faculty, and students brought in new boxes of Crayola crayons to donate to the organization. Just as expected from Fort Wayne, they came through in a big way! The campus goal was to collect 300 boxes – a goal which was surpassed by over a hundred boxes in the last week! Much of the overwhelming success was due to the morning Medical Assisting class and their administrative instructor Nina Thierer. That class brought in over 140 boxes on the last day of the drive alone! The externship class also stepped up, bringing in an additional 60 boxes the same day! In total, the campus staff, faculty, and students was able to deliver 417 boxes of crayons to the organization.
Interested in creating your own fundraiser or book drive for this cause? Be sure to check their website for posters and flyers as well as additional ideas. For more about Kate’s Kart or how you can help, please see their website or refer to their Facebook page for more information.