Kiwanis, Crochet Club donate fifth trauma kit

Brooklyn Avenue became the latest local elementary school to receive a pediatric trauma kit, courtesy of the Valley Stream Kiwanis Club and Monica Village Crochet Club.

Through the efforts of the two organizations, five schools have now been equipped with the emergency kits, with gear specifically designed for children. The trauma kit was presented to Brooklyn Avenue School Principal Dr. Scott Comis and nurse Maria Griffin on Dec. 15 at Monica Village’s Fisher Hall.

“This is a wonderful connection between the Kiwanis Club and the students of Valley Stream,” Comis said. “I’m very appreciative of this generous donation.”

The Kiwanis Club has already outfitted emergency vehicles in the community with the trauma kits. Once that was done, Kiwanis set its sight on the schools, and partnered with the Monica Village Crochet Club. The ladies from the group were raising money from their craft sales, and looking for a good way to use it. Monica Village Executive Director Lucille Moran, a member of Kiwanis, suggested using the money for the emergency kits.

“The beauty of it is they’re fulfilling a need for the children in the area,” Moran said of the Crochet Club members. “They feel good about themselves.”

Moran said the club will have its next craft sale around Easter, and that should put them at the $1,000 necessary to fund another trauma kit. In addition to Brooklyn Avenue School, the Wheeler Avenue, Willow Road, Holy Name of Mary and Blessed Sacrament schools have received kits through the partnership.

Joe Corace, president of the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center at North Shore Hospital in Manhattan, thanked the local Kiwanis chapter and the Crochet Club for all their efforts. He said giving out the trauma kits is one of the most important programs Kiwanis does, and said more than 300 have been given out on Long Island.

As Corace handed the kit to Brooklyn Avenue School officials, he had a few words for them. “I hope you never have to use it,” he said, “but God forbid, everything’s there that you need.”

Griffin, a former pediatric trauma nurse, said she knows how to use the equipment including in the kit, and will train Comis to use it as well. She agreed with Corace, saying that she hopes the kit never has to be used on one of Brooklyn Avenue’s more than 325 students.

Comis said he will take this opportunity to talk to students about the importance of helping others within the community. He noted that the addition of the trauma kit just adds to the emergency equipment already at the school, including an automatic external defibrillator.

Dorothy Lambiaso-Artemisio, president of the Crochet Club for the past five years, said she is proud that they have been able to donate one trauma kit per year. And the ladies will work for more. “That’s our aim,” she said, “to get one in every school in Valley Stream.”