Harrisburg Lions Club Donates to Vinny’s Kids The Harrisburg Lions Club made another generous donation to Vinny’s Kids. King Lion (President) Dwight Steinly and Dave Young (Immediate Past President) present a check to our Treasurer. Thank you Lions!!
Andrew Boynton named Mr. CV 2013 VK5K steering committee member Andrew Boynton was named Mr. CV 2013 during Cumberland Valley High School’s mini-thon! Andrew raised over $1600 for the Four Diamonds Fund. Congratulations, Andrew. We are proud to have you as part of our VKI family!!
The Girl Scouts of Hershey Give Thanks for Good Health Grace Wagler led the Girl Scouts of Hershey, Service Unit 174, in a Giving Tree project during the month of November leading up to Thanksgiving. The event, Give Thanks for Good Health, was held at the Hershey Public Library. More than 217 items were collected for Vinny’s Kids. Thank you to Grace for her inspiration, and to all who made this service project possible.
Vinny’s Kids to Receive Donations of Girl Scout cookies Brownies from Etters Troop 20653 hosted Vinny at their January meeting. These energetic scouts have selected Vinny’s Kids to receive donations of Girl Scout cookies which will be shared with patients at the Penn State Milton Hershey Rehab Hospital. The Brownies will be touring the Vinny’s Kids Activities Room there and hosting a tea party for the pediatric patients later in the spring. On the menu: Girl Scout Cookies, of course!!
Andrew Boynton chose Vinny's Kids as his Eagle Scout project Andrew Boynton, a cross country runner and Cumberland Valley High School student, chose Vinny's Kids as his Eagle Scout project. Andrew collected several hundred toys and other items, as well as cash donations, in conjunction with the annual VK5K Race for Vinny's Kids. A veteran VK5K steering committee member, Andrew also recruited dozens of participants for the race in addition toboy scout volunteers for race day. Andrew now assists other prospective Eagle Scouts who select Vinny's Kids for their project. Thanks, Andrew, for being a great scouting mentor and a valuable part of the VKI "family."
Lucy Tesman celebrated her September 8 Bat Mitzvah with Vinny's Kids! This selfless young lady asked her guests to donate entertainment items to Vinny's Kids. In Lucy's name, more than 335 toys, books and other items, as well as $35 in cash, were donated by those who helped honor her as she reached this important milestone in her life. Thank you, Lucy, for your generosity. Best wishes and much success!!!
Holiday breakfast event sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, St. Joan of Arc School The Wagler family served as special "elves" during the annual holiday breakfast event sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, St. Joan of Arc School and its PTO. Mom Fran supervised elves Miles, Pierce, Liam and Mercy while Dad Dan helped cook and serve the hot breakfast. Each year the K of C teams with SJA school students and PTO members to sponsor a toy drive for Vinny's Kids. This year, which was the 4th annual breakfast and toy drive, the generous parishioners and their guests donated over $194 and 70 toys. Thank you to all who participated.
The Rutgers University Video Game Studies Group donates to VKI Select Start: The Rutgers University Video Game Studies Group contacted Vinny's Kids with an offer to donate used electronic games. This amazing group from Rutgers University donated not only dozens of electronic game devices, but also dozens of age-appropriate games to go with each one!!
The bounty was shared with Camp Victory as well as the Penn State Rehab Hospital pediatric unit. We have heard from happy campers who enjoyed the new addition to the Camp Victory activities room!
Thank you Aaron Trammell and the members of Select Start! To learn more about Select Start, visit selectstart.rutgers.edu
Frederick News Post article - March 15, 2012 Vinny's Kids - Mount St Mary's senior honored for his charitable organization's work
Vinny Cherry, a Mount St. Mary’s University senior from Harrisburg, Pa., founded Vinny’s Kids in 2004 to provide toys for sick children during hospital stays. Cherry recently won the Kenneth R. Arthur Have a Heart for Kids Award. Click here to read the entire article>>
VK5K Race for Vinny's Kids - March 18, 2012 Fox43 News Coverage Video courtesy of Fox43 WPMT
Vinny Delivers Christmas Presents to Children at Penn State Hershey Rehab abc27 news piece on Vinny's Kids, Inc.
Video courtesy of abc27, copyright 2011 Harrisburg Television Inc.
Vinny has been named Outstanding Role Model for Kids by the United Methodist Home for Children. He will be honored at the Have a Heart For Kids Gala on February 11 at the West Shore Country Club. For more information, please call 798-4256.
MARCH 2012 The Fifth Annual VK5K was held Sunday, March 18, 2012 on City Island in Harrisburg .
DECEMBER 2011 Vinny's Kids, Inc. established a Vinny’s Kids Activities Room at the Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital. JANUARY 2008 Camp Victory Vinny's Kids has recently expanded its outreach by adding Camp Victory to its donor list. Several items needed for camp activities have been purchased, including ping pong paddles and balls, a game parachute, and electronic equipment. Camp Victory, which draws chronically ill children from the Central Pennsylvania area, will also receive movies, games, books and other Wish List items. Vinny's Kids will provide camp tuition to many needy children who otherwise would not be able to participate in the camp experience which runs weekly from May 31 to September 1. Visit its website at www.campvictory.org.
DECEMBER 2007 Breakfast with Santa The St. Joan of Arc Knights of Columbus Council 6693 along with the St. Joan of Arc School PTO held a Breakfast with Santa benefit for Vinny's Kids on Saturday, December 8 at the school cafeteria in Hershey. Brave Knights cooked and served breakfast while the PTO entertained children with crafts, face painting and shopping in Santa's Store.
Children who donated an item from the Vinny's Kids Wish List were granted free admission to the event, which featured Santa himself!
Vinny Cherry and his "elves" collected more than 500 items for hospitalized children in the Central Pennsylvania area, along with $50 in cash donations .
Special thanks to John R. Thomas and Mike Waverka from the K of C, and to Pam Stachelek from the PTO for organizing the very successful - and truly enjoyable event!! It was a great way to kick off the holiday season for especially needy children at a most special time of the year. View the Photo Album.
Toy Collection Also in December, the generous staff of both the Pennsylvania Dental Association and its subsidiary insurance company, PDAIS, sponsored a Wish List collection for Vinny's Kids. The collection, which runs through January 15, has brought in more than 100 new or gently used items. The PDA and PDAIS continue to be generous supporters of Vinny's Kids. Thank you to everyone!
OCTOBER 2007 Halloween Costume Contest On October 31, 2007, staff members of the Pensylvania Dental Association Insurance Services, Inc. (PDAIS) and its parent organization Pennsylvania Dental Association held a Halloween Costume Contest to benefit Vinny's Kids.
More than 20 participants donated $5 each to enter the contest. Costumed staff paraded before celebrity judges Lisa Taylor, Pinnacle Health Child Life Specialist, and Vinny Cherry. PDAIS provided prizes for both the costume contest and the best food display at the conclusion of the judging.
Best costume prizes were awarded to Ghost of Gettysburg Rebecca Von Nieda, Skeleton Man Leo Walchak, and South of the Border Bandit Peggy Schmidt. PDA's Administrative Department took top honors for the best food display.
During the awards assembly, Vinny presented a new laptop computer to Ms. Taylor for use in pre-operative education for Harrisburg Hospital's pediatric patients.
Thank you to PDAIS CEO Gil Davis and Brenda Urich for organizing the event, and to all the PDA and PDAIS staff members who joined the fun. Photos of the event are posted in the site's Photo Album.
Andrew Boynton chose Vinny's Kids as his Eagle Scout project 
Holiday breakfast event sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, St. Joan of Arc School 
Vinny has been named Outstanding Role Model for Kids by the United Methodist Home for Children. He will be honored at the Have a Heart For Kids Gala on February 11 at the West Shore Country Club. For more information, please call 798-4256. 