Hayley Smith
Editor-in-Chief
The Butler Student Nursing Association (BSNA) is holding a fundraiser to gather items for the Butler Homeless Initiative (BHI.)
There is a competition going on between the semesters, with a prize for the winner, to encourage the nursing students to become interested in participating in something charitable while pulling the nursing community closer together. BSNA President Hillary Kreutzer explained how charity is a large part of nursing.
“We are basically committed to doing charitable work,” Kreutzer said. “As being nurses, we are putting other people before ourselves, so we want everyone to go ahead and get started on doing that.”
The competition is based on who can raise the most items for BHI based off of the “wish lists.” The wish lists are lists of clothing items, food and toiletries that individuals may need. People can donate money, which will be used to purchase gift cards for families to purchase whatever they may need that BHI may not be able to provide for them.
BHI is an organization in El Dorado that works to get homeless individuals off of the streets and get them reestablished. It is located in the Church of the Nazarene where men, women and families can check in to stay a night, or a few, until they can get themselves back onto their feet.
“This homeless initiative isn’t as much as ‘let’s only give you a place to stay,’ it’s ‘let’s give you a place to stay, let’s figure out what your problem is, and let’s solve it and get you where you need to go,’” Kreutzer said about BHI.
Carla Stephens, a professor of nursing, had the idea of raising items for BHI, according to Kreutzer. After visiting a children’s home where BSNA thought about fundraising for, she realized they had a huge amount of items.
BSNA is a major club on campus, according to Kreutzer.
“BSNA is not just nursing students, though it is our main focus to be leaders who advocate the needs of nursing students,” BSNA Membership Chair Cristina Astegiano said. “We attend student government meetings, organize blood/bone marrow drives, and attend faculty meetings to represent students at Butler. I and the other members of BSNA are passionate about bettering the campus for all of its students.”
Although the fundraiser technically ended on Tuesday, Nov. 22, Kreutzer explained how donations would definitely be accepted at later dates. Students can give items to any nursing student or can find Kreutzer herself to donate. If any students have questions about the fundraiser or about BSNA in general, Kreutzer urges them to contact her. She can be reached by email at hkreutzer@butlercc.edu.
