Since Blessed Sacrament School closed, that kit has been returned and will be re-purposed. Members of the Crochet Club said that once every elementary school in Valley Stream has a trauma kit, they will start putting their money toward high school scholarships which Kiwanis presents annually.

Joe Corace, president of the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center, spoke about the importance of the kits, specifically designed to help children in an emergency. “Putting this together is really something,” he said. “Hopefully we’re saving children’s lives.”

Corace said that training on the use of the kits is available for school nurses, an opportunity Hicks and Dempsey said they want to take advantage of.

Dempsey said that the trauma kit is lightweight and durable, and has everything she might need in an emergency. It includes a neck collar, tubing, blankets, bandages, a burn sheet and even a backboard. There are also extra pockets so nurses can add other items they might need.

“Thank God I’ve never had a true trauma where I’ve needed something like this,” Dempsey said.

“We’re the first line of defense,” added Hicks. “We’ll be there for the children so this will be nice to take out if we need it.”

District 24 Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale said he was grateful to the members of Kiwanis and the Crochet Club for their work supporting the children of Valley Stream. All three of the schools that Fale oversees now have pediatric trauma kits available because of the work of the two organizations.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “This exemplifies it. This is such a wonderful partnership. We appreciate this very much.”