Student volunteers honored for being heartbeat of hospital

It’s not breakfast at Tiffany’s, but it’s still a pretty big deal.

High school student volunteers at Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park gathered in Maimonides Hall for the annual Volunteer Students Recognition Breakfast on Tuesday, May 17.

The ceremony, which was called Volunteers: The Heartbeat of the Hospital, recognizes students for the time they spent volunteering and all the time and effort they put into being caregivers at the medical center.

Kenneth Gibbs, the hospital’s president and CEO, praised the students for their work and made it known how valuable they are to the medical center.

“It is an honor to work with such extraordinary student volunteers who make a measurable difference in the lives of our patients and caregivers every day,” said Gibbs.

Maimonides Medical Center offers several volunteer programs for high school and college students to gain experience working with patients.

Anthony Fusco, one of the student volunteers who spoke on behalf of students at the recognition breakfast, has been volunteering since last summer, and will continue to do so when he starts Baruch College in the fall.

“I feel like it was necessary to shed light on a really great program,” said Fusco.

The New Utrecht High School senior was delighted to be one of the students chosen to speak at the recognition breakfast, and was glad he could show some appreciation for the program he has been a part of for almost a year.

“This was a special breakfast was for all of us, and I was honored to be a voice for the other volunteers to show our appreciation for the program,” said Fusco.

Besides New Utrecht, schools whose students participated in the program included Bishop Kearney High School, Al-Noor High School, Bay Ridge Prep, FDR High School, International High School at Lafayette, Sunset Park High School and the Brooklyn Studio Secondary School.

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