ST. HELENS — Pink and gold hearts will be sprouting in eateries and businesses throughout town this month as the second annual “Buy a Heart and Touch the Heart of a Child” fundraiser for the Sacagawea School-Based Health Center gets underway.
Friends of Sacagawea Health Center distributed hundreds of hearts to local merchants, including restaurants, bars, Ace Hardware, Pacific Stainless and the St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union –the main sponsor of the Touch the Heart of a Child art auction.
With space for donors to write their name or that of a loved one, the hearts will be displayed throughout the month of February. Pink hearts are available for a donation of just $1, while gold hearts, new this year, are available for $5.
In 2009, the top business was Pastime Tavern in St. Helens, bringing in $368 through heart sales. Close behind was the St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union, which sold 224 hearts, but also raised approximately $176 more through employee contributions, according to Robin Loper, RN BSN, Sacagawea Program Director and St. Helens School District Nurse.
“Staff members paid to wear jeans on Friday and that money went to Sacagawea,” Loper said.
This year, businesses will have an incentive to sell hearts. The top donating business will receive a plaque commemorating their achievement.
Last year, the fundraiser brought in $2,000, so the group stepped up their goal this year, according to Diane Dillard, a Friend of Sacagawea Health Center. The 2010 goal is to raise $5,000 for the center.
“In the past, we have contributed to these types of fundraisers with larger organizations, however in the current economy, we feel it is more beneficial to contribute to the children of our local community,” said Tammy Paulson, Marketing Associate at the St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union.
During the 2008-2009 school year, the Sacagawea Health Center had more than 700 student visits for primary healthcare needs, according to Robin Loper, program administrator and school district nurse. In the fall, Sacagawea provided more than 300 H1N1 vaccinations to students, as well as seasonal flu vaccinations.
The center, which opened in 2000 at the Lewis and Clark grade school, does not bill for services and relies on a combination of state funding, in-kind services, private donations grants and fundraising. Due to budget cuts in the last year, Sacagawea has seen a substantial decrease in funding yet has been able to continue this year with all services intact.
In 2009, when many departments and agencies faced budget cuts, Governor Ted Kulongoski left school-based health centers intact, Loper said. “The governor has been extremely supportive of school-based health centers,” she continued.
With a Licensed Nurse Practitioner on staff and a partnership with Columbia Community Mental Health, the center currently offers primary health care services to all St. Helens School District students in grades K-8 with medical oversight by Legacy Health System. Mental health services are also offered at St. Helens High School.
Sacagawea's board is currently in the process of exploring expansion of primary care to students at St. Helens High School. Sports physicals are also available to all St. Helens School District students for a nominal fee.
Friends of Sacagawea hope to ramp up fundraising this year with an additional raffle and increased participation in their major fundraiser "Touch the Heart of a Child Auction and Benefit" on May 15 at the Olde School so that all programs may continue next year.
"This is a time above all times with all the layoffs and uninsured familie s that we need to be running at full steam providing these much needed services to all children," Loper said.
Through early diagnosis and intervention, school-based health centers help reduce the spread of infection and contagious diseases, reduce absenteeism and save money by decreasing the number of visits to emergency rooms for young people receiving non-critical care, according to a press release from the Friends of Sacagawea Health Center.
Sacagawea Health Center is located at 1060 Eisenschmidt Lane, on the Lewis and Clark Campus near Eisenschmidt Pool. The center is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday during the school year.
For more information or to set up an appointment, call (503) 366-7645.
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