By: Calyn Bauer, Correspondent
At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Helping Hearts is a club dedicated to volunteering in the Prescott area. According to EagleLife, their mission “is to provide community service to local causes.” Helping Hearts was founded in 2020 but was forced to go on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. Helping Hearts was finally able to resume the good work in Fall 2021. Over the course of the past year, they have volunteered with Ms. Kitties Cat House, local nursing homes, and the nearby Heritage Park Zoo.
Elizabeth Fragala, the secretary of Helping Hearts, shed some light on volunteering events the club helps with. On Saturday, Sept. 17, a group of 8 Helping Hearts members went to the Heritage Park Zoo to assist with setting up and taking down an event called After Dark in the Park, a biannual event where the zoo hires a band and serves a meal and beverages to those who buy a ticket to attend. This event is a fundraiser to maintain the park and keep entry fees low. The zoo is staffed by only about 17 full-time employees, so they rely on volunteers for the set up and take down of events such as this one.
Helping Hearts will be putting on another event in October. Fragala stated, “The next event will be a Halloween-themed fundraiser for a breast cancer ward at the local hospital, as October is breast cancer awareness month. We plan to bake some deserts and have a bake sale in front of the library.”
If anyone has any questions about upcoming events or want to get involved with the club, Fragala encourages you to reach out to any of the executive members whose contacts can be found on EagleLife. Lastly, if you are interested in what the Helping Hearts club is up to, you can follow them on Instagram at erau_helping_hearts.
