Students who want to make a difference for children with cancer will be able to help starting on Thursday. Caring for Cancer is an emerging club that donates gift baskets to children at the Dell Children’s Hospital.

“This club brings like-minded students together to focus on a mission to make the world a better place, one toy at a time,” senior and vice president Casey McKinney said. “We wanted to start [Caring for Cancer] because we feel that there wasn’t any other club at Vandegrift that raises awareness for cancer and gives students numerous opportunities to make a difference in their own city.”

Through fundraisers, volunteering and visits to the hospital, the club’s ultimate goal is to help raise donations and create personalized goodie baskets to bring to children with cancer at the Dell Children’s Hospital of Central Texas in downtown Austin.

“I volunteer at Dell Children’s Hospital so I’m always around the kids who are currently getting treatments,” senior and president Hailey Derrickson said. “I saw how happy they were when they got a toy or got to do a craft and I wanted to start a club to provide that happiness.”

For a $10 donation, students can join the group and help assemble baskets that include an array of toys, games, gift cards and crafts. When the baskets have been made, representatives and volunteers plan to make a trip downtown to present them to the children at Dell.

“We are so passionate about volunteering and donating to the children with cancer at the Dell Children’s Hospital,” McKinney said. “We decided that other people might want to join our mission to help others find happiness in their heartbreaking situations.”

Club meetings will be held in Ms. Harrelson’s room every other Thursday during PIT.  Senior and Treasurer Lyndie Coffman says she is hopeful this club will have an impact on the VHS community.

“As treasurer, I am excited to be part of starting this club and getting more involved,” Coffman said. “Starting this club is important to me because there might not be much a single student can do to actually cure cancer, but as a group we can absolutely improve the ways people go through the treatment and healing process.”

Find out more ways to help the Children’s Blood and Cancer Center at Dell Children’s Hospital here.