For Peace Week at Friends Academy, Inkwell reached out to Glen Cove Hospital, a part of the Northwell Health hospital system, to offer a donation of gratitude letters to doctors and general healthcare workers.

After receiving the affirmative from the Volunteer Services Department at Glen Cove Hospital, the Inkwell committee hosted the gratitude letter writing event during lunch block on Tuesday, January 18 in the Underhill building. Though Mario’s pizza served as a strong incentive for attendance, the overall turnout of FA high-school students was excellent. Supplied with a plenitude of colorful markers and colored paper, students put their artistic creativity to good use.

Although I, personally, am not especially artistically-gifted, I found the activity to be a good way to de-stress and, obviously, express my gratitude for burdened healthcare workers at Glen Cove Hospital. Both of my parents are doctors, and my father works as a cardiologist at LIJ Medical Center, another hospital in the Northwell health system. As his son, I have come to understand the burden that Covid-19 has placed on doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers across New York State hospitals, making this activity especially meaningful and fulfilling to me.

In the end, the gratitude letter writing event was a success. Afterward, when Pierce Hirshfield, Inkwell’s managing editor, and I took a trip to Glen Cove Hospital to drop off the letters, the main office staff seemed very grateful – almost surprised – for our donation. In these trying times during the Covid-19 pandemic, small acts of kindness like these have become ever more important.