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Finding a Little Joy: Jared Box Project

PLAINS TOWNSHIP — College and high school students are helping kids in the hospital find a little joy. Bag after bag was filled with box after box and del...

PLAINS TOWNSHIP -- College and high school students are helping kids in the hospital find a little joy.

Bag after bag was filled with box after box and delivered at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center near Wilkes-Barre with the help of baseball players from King's College, along with students from Pocono Mountain schools, and even a state trooper or two.

It's all part of the Jared Box Project.  The program is named after a former Geisinger patient where kids at the hospital received boxes containing everything from crayons and coloring books and other little treats to help them pass time during their stay.

"When you bring in a Jared Box, it changes the whole setting," said Dr. Lisa Holtz. "Kids' eyes light up and they're happy and really the time these students put into those boxes lasts threefold."

Jerry Greeley is the ringleader behind this circus of people spreading joy. He teaches at Pocono Mountain and is also the King's College baseball coach.

This year, he orchestrated nearly 2,000 boxes to be delivered to nearly 2,000 kids -- a lesson this teacher is passing down.

"It teaches them that they do not live in a world of one. A lot of times college guys are just worried about the immediate thing going on, but this teaches them to give back to the community and helping others for really nothing in return and just helping people," Greeley said.

And after eight years, Greeley and his students and players crossed a milestone: 10,000 Jared Boxes for those who need it.

 

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