BRENHAM HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TAKE ON ‘LILY PAD PROJECT’

  

Brenham High School teacher Mark Thiel plans to do more than just teach his students about construction technology this year. He plans to teach them about changing lives.

In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Thiel and his students are collaborating with Adam’s Angels Ministries, Texas Children’s Hospital, MD Anderson Hospital, and Nick’s Lily Pad Project to put smiles on the faces of sick children.

Thiel got the idea after watching a video about the Lily Pad Project in Seattle, Washington. Lily Pads are specially designed wooden discs that rest on the base of an IV stand and allow children to sit and ride on the IV pole. Lily Pads not only make it easier for patients to get around, they allow patients to have fun during their hospital stay.

Thiel says that he wanted to take on the project, not only for the patients, but for the students of Brenham High School. He says that many of his students have not had the opportunity or finances to give back to their community. This project will allow the students to experience the satisfaction of helping others.

Thiel’s students will cut, prep, prime and paint the discs in class before handing them off to be decorated by students in the Brenham High School Art Club, senior citizens from the WCHLA and local artists. They plan to make 40 Lily Pads for Texas Children’s Hospital and another 40 for MD Anderson. Thiel and his students will make a trip to Houston to deliver the Lily Pads before the Christmas holiday.

Paint and building materials for the project have been donated by Woodson Lumber Company of Brenham and Sherwin Williams Paint Store of Brenham.