Shruti Jain of Plainsboro recently completed her Girl Scout Silver Award project. A Girl Scout since first grade, she is in Troop 70871. She collected nearly 200 books to donate to Shriners Hospital for Children.
“The books are intended to be used in the goody bags given to the inpatient children or may be used in the book cart taken to in-patients or for use in the lobby,” says Jain. The Philadelphia hospital provides care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries, and other special healthcare needs.
Jain had personal reasons for choosing Shriners Hospital. “I had two hand surgeries there, and that hospital holds a special place in my heart,” Jain says. “This was one way of giving back.”
Jain worked with her troop leaders, Laurie Renz and Tephanie Meiers; Gerard Dalton, principal at Community Middle School; and Patrick Lepore and his Wake-Up Community team at Community Middle School. She also received donations of books from Eileen Burnash and Sharon Mitchell from Plainsboro Library. Her project adviser was MaryAnn Roberto, recreational therapist at Shriners Hospital.
“Their generous support went a long way in exceeding my original goal of collecting 100 books for my project,” she says. “Books provide a wonderful escape for the patients to take their minds off the pain.”
