Project Spirit hopes to unite the school, the community, and anyone in need of a helping hand. Club members live out the Ephebic Oath by taking on two new projects this year: offering solace to families in Newtown Connecticut, and making healing bracelets for patients suffering from chronic diseases.

Beginning its first project only last year, the club has already successfully delivered fifty gifts and a number of blankets and scarves to the Veterans at the VA hospital. This year, with a fresh set of sophomores making up the majority of the club, a new project was launched as well.

The club’s initial purpose this year focused on reaching out to those suffering with Cancer, Lupus, Crohn’s disease, and Alzheimer’s by making healing bracelets. Helen Rizzuto, English teacher and club advisor, said, “The patients could use these bracelets to meditate, keep track of the number of treatments they have been through, or whatever else they need to use it for.”

The students who partake in the club chose blue as their unifying color, and decided to add a single, different colored bead to represent each separate disease the bracelets symbolize. Ena Rasic, sophomore, said, “I can’t really relate to it because I don’t know anyone with any of these diseases, but it’s a great cause. I volunteer at a hospital and I think it would be nice for those patients to get a bracelet like this.”

This project, however, was put on hold when the shooting occurred in Newtown, Connecticut, leaving the club members wanting to help. They decided this to be a more pressing issue due to the timeliness of the event.

With a desire to remember and help the aching families impacted by the event, they created green bracelets displaying their motto, ‘We are holding your hand,’ in order to unify the community and offer a hand during this time of need. Gabrielle Gozdyra, sophomore, said, “It feels nice to give back to people who are hurting.”

These green bracelets are available for students to buy in school, and with each purchase, a bracelet will also be sent over to Newtown, along with an uplifting message to comfort the grieving families and friends. With the purchase of a bracelet, a member of the THHS community will be given the opportunity to write a few consoling words of support and encouragement.

Sumayya Vawda concluded, “It would be nice for someone to do that for you if the situations were reversed.”