It should come as no surprise that Huntington High School English Honor Society members like to read books. But the teenagers took their love for the printed word one step further by collecting 630 books and donating them to Stony Brook University Hospital in honor of a cherished faculty member.
The books are being donated in honor of teacher Aimee Antorino, who is the English Honor Society’s co-faculty advisor. Ms. Antorino was granted a leave of absence from her position this year as she nurses one of her own children through a serious illness, but she is never very far from the thoughts of the students and colleagues she has been close to.
The Huntington English Honor Society is donating 630 books to Stony Brook Hospital.
“After visiting Ms. Antorino and her daughter, I realized how much waiting [around] happens in a hospital, both for the visitors and the patients and thought how wonderful it might be to provide them with a source of books,” said English teacher Bonnie Guarino, who is the English Honor Society’s co-faculty advisor.
“I asked Mrs. Antorino if we could do this in honor of her daughter and she loved the idea and put me in touch with a liaison at the hospital who informed me that they have racks in the lobby where they put books for people to take and read,” Ms. Guarino said. “They can return them or not. He told me that he puts books out every few days and they are ‘gone.’ People really enjoy this service. He was thrilled with our offer, but said he has no storage so can only take 100 books at a time.”
Huntington’s National English Honor Society chapter is led President Nolan Piccola, Vice President Max Robins, Treasurer Thomas Edgar-McNerney and Secretary Megan Erhardt.
The organization’s members are planning to make several trips to Stony Brook to deliver all 630 of the books. They are currently neatly stacked in the rear of Mrs. Guarino’s room. Soon they will be bringing delight to the folks stuck waiting around at the hospital.