HANCOCK – Copper Country ISD Career and Technical Education (CTE) Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) class worked with Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly to assist in preparation for their annual food drive. Lorie Maki, CTE CNA instructor said, “All students who participate in CNA also participate in the international health care professionals organization HOSA (Future Healthcare Professionals), one of the key tenets of HOSA is building the total person, especially leadership. One of the key ways of building leadership is through service learning. For this project students worked with Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly to prepare for their food drive which is a fantastic example of building character for all students.” Elisa Isaacson, a Houghton High School senior, said “Giving back to the community is a great feeling, having an opportunity to do something so small (putting fliers on bags) is important; knowing (the food drive) is so important for the community, is worthwhile.”

The work of the CNA students certainly does not go unrecognized. Little Brothers Friends – of the Elderly Program Director, Gail Ross said, “Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly is truly appreciative for the assistance received today, service learning is huge for the organization and what makes it work. Putting flyers on the bag or visiting with elders is vital for the success of Little Brothers’ philosophy and mission of assisting the elderly, especially during this perilous time.”

The goal for the 2020 annual food drive is to receive 7000-8000 pounds of food to be distributed monthly to approximately 100 elderly homes throughout the year and at the holiday meals. The 4000 bags CNA students assisted with attaching fliers to will be distributed in an edition of the Daily Mining Gazette the week of Nov. 2. For information about the annual food drive, to arrange a remote pick up, or volunteer for the event, call Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly at 482-6944 or visit Houghton.littlebrothers.org. Nonperishables will be picked up by community members and the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity on November 7.

You can learn more about the Certified Nurse Aide program as well as the other CTE programs by visiting Copper Country ISD CTE webpage at https://www.copperisd.org/career-technical-education or calling 906-482-4250, extension 300.