Egg My Yard
Students plan Easter themed fundraiser
Cabot High School’s HOSA club members will be hopping from house to house hiding colorful, candy-filled eggs for their most recent fundraiser.
Proceeds from the Egg My Yard fundraiser will help HOSA state winners attend the national competition in Orlando, Florida, in June.
HOSA — Health Occupations Students of America — is an international student organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Jenifer Mitchell, a teacher at Cabot High School, is the adviser of the school’s HOSA club.
“It’s an organization specifically for high school and postsecondary students who have ambitions of going to college to become future health care professionals,” Mitchell said.
Adult-supervised HOSA members will hide candy-filled Easter eggs in yards the night before Easter.
Residents can order 25 pre-filled and delivered eggs for $20, or 50 eggs for $35. Orders must be placed by Tuesday. “We will be begin at 9 p.m. [Saturday],” Mitchell said. “We have several medical instructors who will be helping. Parents of HOSA students are invited to help as well. However, the students are so excited about the preparation and being “bunnies”
that they have pretty much taken this idea and run with it already,” she explained.
A section on the order form allows parents to specify whether they want eggs hidden in their front yard or backyard. Parents are also encouraged to leave notes about pets of which the students need to be aware.
“We have a wide assortment of candy for the eggs, including chocolate, Smarties, gum and Nerds,” Mitchell said. “The order forms that the parents fill out also have an area to indicate special requests, such as allergies to peanuts.”
In addition, each order will contain a personalized note from the Easter Bunny that will be delivered in the mailbox or another specified area.
Parents also have the option of purchasing the eggs and hiding them themselves.
“It’s so exciting to see these HOSA students involved so much,” Mitchell said.
Cabot High School’s Medical Academy offers a variety of classes, including medical terminology, medical professions, sports medicine and pathology.
“We also offer a class where students learn about infection control, vital signs, and get certified in CPR and first aid,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said HOSA students participate in blood drives, flu clinics and job-shadowing. They also volunteer at vet clinics, women’s clinics and nursing homes throughout the year.
“This is a student-led
organization, so basically, the students get out of it what they put into it,” Mitchell said.
At the HOSA National Competition, state winners from Cabot High School will compete with other students from around the world.
“Students can compete in around 50 categories based on things they learn in class,” Mitchell said.
One state winner, Janson Hubanks, was recently elected to be one of five state HOSA officers.
Hubanks is a junior at Cabot High School who said he hopes to be an orthopaedic surgeon.
“I’m glad I get the opportunity to help kids learn about what’s in the medical field as a state officer,” Hubanks said. “That’s what I want to do the
most. When you’re actually going in there and learning, you find that the medical field isn’t just all the hype and what you think it is. It’s a business, too.”
Hubanks said HOSA members create portfolios that include notes on job-shadowing, resume-building and other work related to the medical academy.
“HOSA is more than just a club,” Hubanks said. “It’s something you really have to put work into. This is the starting point of your medical career if you want it to be.”
Hubanks said he feels blessed to be a state officer.
Other Cabot winners from the state competition last month include Ty Copeland, Andre Scott, Logan Edmondson, Jacob Campbell, Shelby Cornwell, Brittney Abshire, Whitney Bush, Kaelee Simmons and Bryson Woods.
Henry Hawkins, principal of Cabot High School, said the medical program is a positive, integral part of the Cabot High School campus.
“HOSA is one of the most impactful groups we have on our campus,” Hawkins said. “These kids are preparing for their future, not just being in a club. They are motivated, energetic and very ambitious. We are very proud of them.”
This is the first year HOSA has offered Egg My Yard, and the students plan to offer the fundraiser again next year.
Students are willing to travel outside of the Cabot School District to hide eggs and leave
notes from the Easter Bunny.
“I have students who have relatives in Jacksonville and Beebe that we are traveling to as well,” Mitchell said.
To order eggs or make a donation, contact Mitchell at jenifer.mitchell@cabotschools.org.