Whether it’s delivering food or helping with holiday events, Renee Guerrero says American Career College-Ontario is always looking for ways to support the staff at partnering hospitals and organizations.
But this Valentine’s Day, Renee said, she wanted to take a different approach.
“We always give to the administration or the nurses at facilities, but our partners have patients,” she said, “so I thought, what could we do that’s different? Because we’re also here for patient care.”
That’s when Renee, the ACC-Ontario student experience manager, came up with the Valentine’s Day drive. She sent an invitation to campus associates, students, and her personal network to donate Valentine’s Day gifts to those in need.
“I just said I wanted to donate Valentine’s Day cards and treats to local hospitals in the Inland Empire,” she said. “They’re going to children, moms who just delivered babies, adults living with disabilities, and on.”
Since hitting send on her original email, Renee has now collected more than 2,000 gifts to be delivered to the following ACC-Ontario partners: Ronald McDonald House of Loma Linda, Totally Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Easterseals, Dream Big Children’s Center, Eisenhower Medical Center, Parkview Medical Center, and the YMCA.
“I just picked up from my respiratory therapy and medical billing and coding team,” she said, adding that students alone donated about 700 gifts to the drive. “My heart is just amazingly full with how people have come together and been so generous.”
