Skagit Valley College Student Nurse Club gives back to the community
(L to R: Alaina Schwartz, Janelle Maddox, Yuliya Golubovich.jpg): SVC Student Nurse Club members Alaina Schwartz, Janelle Maddox, and Yuliya Golubovich celebrate the completion of the club’s community service project for Skagit Valley Hospital’s Festival of Trees and Silent Auction.
Skagit Valley College nursing students receive valuable, high demand clinical training at Skagit Valley Hospital (SVH) in addition to their rigorous lectures and labs at SVC. Thanks to a teaching agreement between the hospital and the college, nursing students learn from and train with experienced registered nurses (RNs) at the hospital.
To express their appreciation to the hospital, the SVC Student Nurse Club (SNC) selected SVH’s 33rd Annual Festival of Trees Tree Stroll and Silent Auction as a way to give back. "It seems like a natural fit for the SVC Student Nurse Club to show mutual support and give back to a community organization that provides needed training and future employment opportunities for SVC nursing grads,” said Joy Caldwell, former SNC vice president.
The SNC tree is Cardinal-themed to represent the college and expresses the students’ pride and thanks to SVH. The design team included Nursing students Club President Joanna Wilkens, Yuliya Golubovich, Janelle Maddox, Alaina Schwartz, Jessica Travis, and Beth West. “Faculty advisors Joy Curtis and Kathy Corrion have been a huge help with pulling this off as well,” said Wilkens. “We could not have done it without everyone involved.”
The finished tree is on display in the window of Pacioni's Italian Restaurant at 606 South 1st Street in Mount Vernon. “The tree designed by the Nurse Club is fantastic! Excellent first-time design,” said Wendy Ragusa, Stewardship and Annual Fund manager for the festival.
The Festival of Trees is an annual fundraiser hosted by the Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation. Proceeds from this year’s festival will benefit Skagit Regional Health’s family birth centers. Design teams from across the community have decorated beautiful trees for this event, which are on public display in Mount Vernon’s downtown storefronts from Nov. 4-28. From Nov. 19-26, all members of the community are welcome to bid on their favorite tree in an online auction. Auction winners will have the trees delivered to their homes Nov. 28. For more information, visit skagitfestivaloftrees.org.