Answering the call

Hill School organizes donations to hospital, first responders

POTTSTOWN » From keeping first responders fed to keeping them protected, the greater Hill School community is doing its part to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hill School faculty and staff recently took up a collection and raised more than $1,800 to purchase about 300 lunches for medical staff at Pottstown Hospital and Goodwill Fire Company personnel.

Through the efforts of Hill’s Human Resources Director Heather Gelting, the school has been working with Rocky Citrino at Little Italy with plans to deliver 350 hoagies to Pottstown Hospital and 25 to Goodwill, “as our way of saying thank you to the dedicated and heroic EMT, fire, and hospital staff,” according to Cathy Skitko, head of communications for Hobart’s Run and The Hill School.

Additionally, Pottstown Hospital, as well as other hospitals/ emergency personnel, are receiving significant deliveries of essential PPE equipment donated by Hill School parents and alumni from China and South Korea.

They organized efforts to gather these much-needed supplies and shipped them to Hill’s Elliot Menkowitz, M.D. Wellness Center for distribution as needed throughout our area, according to Skitko.

China is a major producer of these essential products. Some of The Hill donors live in southeast Pennsylvania but have contacts who helped to make this possible.

As the COVID-19 situation was worsening in the U.S., a few Hill parents reached out to Headmaster Zack Lehman and asked what they could do to help our general area in the growing crisis, and he said that PPE support was greatly needed.

Hill’s parents and alumni took it from there.

More than 70 Hill families are participating in this effort, including parents who have enrolled their students for next year for the first time.

Hill expects as many as 50,000 masks or more will make their way to healthcare-related facilities in our area via a first stop at Hill’s Wellness Center.

So far, about 20,000 masks of various models have been delivered and distributed (or are in the process of being delivered to their final destinations) since this effort began in late March, according to Dr. Kristin Spencer, Medical Director of Hill’s Wellness Center.

The equipment has found grateful homes, so far, at the Pottstown Hospital; the Pottstown Police Department; Goodwill Fire Company; the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s emergency department; Keystone Villa Continuing Care Community in Douglassville; and various emergency services/ ambulance companies and other healthcare professionals.

Helping to coordinate the effort, in addition to Dr. Spencer, has been Yijuan Qiu, Hill’s Administrative Coordinator and International Family Liaison.

Hill expects as many as 50,000 masks or more will make their way to healthcare-related facilities in our area via a first stop at Hill’s Wellness Center.

Also, before these parents and alumni became involved, masks that were on hand for use in Hill’s Science Department were donated by Hill to the local cause.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Little Italy owner Rocky Citrino and Hill School Human Relations Director Heather Gelting deliver hoagies to Pottstown Hospital on Good Friday.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS Yijuan Qiu, Hill’s administrative coordinator and international family liaison, with a large shipment of masks received recently for local distribution.

Pottstown Police officer Steve Dise, left, and Cpl. Todd Istenes with masks donated by The Hill School.

Goodwill Fire Station also received hoagies from The Hill School/Little Italy effort.

From left, Carrie Hehn, interim executive director for personal care, Sue Seanor, executive director of independent living, and Jonathan Garber, vice president of operations, Heritage Senior Living with masks donated by The Hill School’s efforts.