Good Counsel’s Golden Hour
On Friday, February 10, 2023 the inaugural Golden Hour event where GC stood up to pediatric cancer occurred. Senior student leaders Kennedy Gaffney, Jessica Zuniga, Marina Lanning, Jordan Marshall, Mia Vasco, and Christa Opoku-Asare and staff moderators Ms. Costanzo, Mrs. Hanson, and Ms. Wickard organized and ran an event from 6 PM to midnight in which 350 students completed service activities.
In their original planning sessions only 50 students were anticipated to register for the event. Making this one of the most successful student-led service events in recent school history.
Students made fleece hats and scarves, crafted spring or summer ornaments, sewed sock bunnies, created fun eye masks, and packaged sunshine care packages for children who are battling cancer.
“I loved Golden Hour! It was really impactful to hear stories from Good Counsel students and parents, especially how the people at Good Counsel were so important to their fighting cancer. I was also very impressed by the hard work of the organizers. They were expecting a much smaller event, and they managed to pull off something 5 times their planned size! I participated in the mask-making, which was very fun–it took me back to when I was a kid. I also taught people how to make paper cranes, knowing that the work I put into helping and making those would brighten a kid’s day was truly meaningful,” stated senior Kate Nonnenkamp ‘23.
Several guest speakers shared their experiences about how pediatric cancer has impacted their families and individual lives, including, Ms. Krista Novak and her son Karter, Ms. Margaret Norris and her son Joey Norris ‘16, Ms. Helene Fritschi, mom of Kyle Fritschi ‘18, Ms. Jenny Kehoe ‘08, and Ms. Keli Mazzuca.
Pediatric cancer has touched so many GC students and families. According to the American Cancer Society (cancer.org), approximately 9,910 children in the United States younger than the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer this year.
Fact Credit: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-in-children/key-statistics.html
