WELLINGTON, Fla. — A group of young future medical workers at Wellington High School are hoping to give back to those currently on the frontlines.
A Halloween themed fundraiser is underway through the student created organization "Future Healthcare Professionals" formerly known as "Health Occupation Students of America" (HOSA)
"We really want to be able to further medical innovation because I know when it comes to medical research, any little bit they can get, it helps," says Jordynn Belez a co-president of Future Healthcare Professionals.
The group is putting together gift baskets with candy, pens and pumpkins and turning them pink, combining the Halloween season with Breast Cancer Awareness month.
"Personally, I want to be a pediatric oncologist and so I wanted to focus on the cancer aspect of the medical field, and that's why I particularly chose this fundraiser," Samantha Schube the founder and president of Future Healthcare Professionals.
A proceed of the money raised will be donated to a breast cancer foundation.
"The money goes towards the research and also for helping out the families, the support groups and just really supporting the families through breast cancer," said Schube. "What's most important though is continuing the innovative research for new treatments and new cures hopefully in the future."
The rest of the money raised will go back to the organization's community service projects and monthly fundraisers.
If you would like to donate some pumpkins or if you'd like to purchase a gift basket, you're asked to contact the group's by emailing Jessica.Mendez@palmbeachschools.org.
Future Healthcare Professionals serves as a resource for students that are pursuing careers in the medical field.
Through 5 committees; health & fitness, medical, mental heatlh, scientific research and healthcare, students actively engage in the community and industry professionals while establishing mentorships to guide students through their careers.
"For me personally I don't know where in the medical field I want to go yet. But I come from a low-income family so to be able to activate this club and be able to establish this club was really important to me because I'm able to allow other students who might not have many resources to be able to research and learn about the healthcare industry. I wanted to provide them an outlet to see if it's a good fit for them." says Belez.
The group also has various health professionals who serve as speakers to talk about their experience and how they got in the industry.
"We're trying to include all the different aspects of the club so students can explore anything in the science realm and get a feel of what it's like to go through college, going to these professions and what professions they may be interested in." says Schube.
Because it is a student run fundraiser, they're in need of smaller sized pumpkins for their fundraiser.
"Right now we're just working on the funds and donations of students around us. We have students involved, teachers involved, so everyone is really excited to share our passion for helping other people"
The students have a fundraising goal of $200, but hope to raise more as long as they have supplies and funding.