Sept. 8, 2026- High School East's Dylan Pereira used his National Honor Society project to make a true difference. The senior rallied family, friends, and peers to donate comfort items for pediatric patients at Community Medical Center.

According to CMC, Pereira's donation came at the ideal time, as the storage unit of the Emergency Department — which treats up to 36 children daily and as many as 13,000 annually — was in need of restocking. The donation drive focused on items designed to ease anxiety for pediatric patients and included fidget toys, coloring books, crayons, storybooks, and board games.

"I genuinely enjoyed doing this and feel so grateful that I had the opportunity to give back to the community in a such a special way," Pereira said.

"Dylan's thoughtful project will help make hospital visits a little brighter for the children the Emergency Department treats daily," CMC staff noted in a newsletter highlighting the donation.