Salisbury’s Super Students is a recurring column on the Falcon Courier that showcases some of the amazing things that our students accomplish and the amazing young adults they are becoming. For more installments of Salisbury’s Super Students stay updated on the Falcon Courier website.
By Patrick To
Did somebody say freshmen? No. Nobody ever does, but in this special installment of the Salisbury Super Students, we are featuring our very own freshman, Andrew Hines. Many of you have probably never heard this name before because he is actually a new student to the Salisbury School District. He’s always lived in the township, but this is first year attending a Salisbury school.
Andrew is like most other high school students. He enjoys spending time outdoors through soccer, baseball, hiking, and camping, but he also likes to play video games in his free time and claims that he is particularly good at FIFA18. What sets him apart is the dedication he has for helping others in need.
Every year, Andrew and his sister (Katie) organize a small toy drive (Operation Christmas Magic) for the Pediatric Outpatient Oncology Clinic at the Lehigh Valley Hospital. Basically, it’s a small toy drive that supports a family with a child that has been diagnosed with some form of cancer. These families are often tight on money and cannot afford to buy gifts for their children, so Andrew and his sister step in to help. In his first year, the pair managed to collect almost 50 toys and several hundred dollars in gas and grocery gift cards for a 4 year old girl who had two brothers and a single mother that could not afford to buy them toys.
Andrew has been doing this for 5 years now, and will continue to help this year. His sister, Katie, was actually diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (a form of childhood cancer) at 11 months old, and fought it until she beat it at age 2, so this toy drive is also a way for the pair to give back the clinic.
Andrew is also a volunteer for the Lehigh Valley TOP Soccer Club, which is the only club in the area that is dedicated to offering soccer to children with special needs, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy. He finds it very rewarding to help kids with special needs learn the game that he loves, and doesn’t mind spending the extra time to do so.
As I mentioned before, Andrew is new to the school district, and he is a pretty good person as you can see, so please offer him a warm welcome to our community.
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