Health Science 3 Class Gives Back to Its Community

The students in Lakeview High School’s Health Science 3 class have been able to give back to their community and also learn valuable lessons about food insecurity this year.

Their most recent class project was based on East Central District Health Department’s Community Health Improvement Program (CHIP), which focuses on addressing community issues and meeting those needs. The students chose food insecurity as the community issue they wanted to tackle. Their goal was to send home backpack meals to help at least 20 Lakeview families through the holiday season.

They asked each of the school’s homeroom classes to collect specific food items, with a goal of providing breakfast and dinner meals, along with a small snack, that would last each family three or four days. They also accepted cash donations. 

In total, the students packaged 15 boxes for Lakeview families who are experiencing food insecurity. Each box included lunch and dinner meals, fruit, snacks, water and juice.

Student Olivia Behnk said this project has given her a good feeling going into the holiday season.

“It’s even better knowing that as you are going home for the holidays, you are also helping other families out so they can have a nice holiday as well,” she said.

Tracy Long, who teaches the class, said she was beyond proud of the achievement.

“I’m hopeful that this project has not only given them a sense of pride in themselves,” Long said, “but also an understanding of the mission of Columbus Community Hospital, which is to improve the health and wellness of the communities we serve.”

Health Science 3 is one of many classes associated with the Health Science Pathway program, which allows students to learn about careers in the medical field through a series of classes.

For more information on the Health Science Pathway program, visit columbushosp.org.