Port Washington Student Collects 200 Thank You Cards For Hospital

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Normally, Port Washington high-schooler Emily Milgrim would be doing homework for school, dancing on the Portettes kickline and dance team, and editing articles for the school newspaper. She's still dancing remotely with a local studio, but Milgrim recognized she was living through extraordinary times. Two weeks ago, she decided she wanted to show her appreciation for those on the front lines of the outbreak, especially given that Nassau was among the most affected counties in the country.

Milgrim, a junior at Paul D. Schreiber High School, came up with an idea: collect cards of appreciation for the dedicated nurses, doctors and other medical staff who were giving their all to save as many lives as they could from the COVID-19 disease, then deliver them to a hospital. She founded the movement Friends of the Frontline Nassau to do just that, and started collecting cards for health care workers at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn. She partnered with Delux Transportation, which set up a collection box outside its storefront and then on Monday delivered the cards.

About 200 cards — both physical and virtual — were collected, Milgrim said.

"It's hard to tell. Sometimes people send photos of their cards spread out on a table," she said, noting they avoided physically touching the cards, making it difficult to get an accurate total.

Milgrim has volunteered at St. Francis in the past and is interested in pursing a career in the medical field in the future. She thought gathering cards would be one of the easier ways to show the community's support, especially since people aren't equally able to donate money, food or supplies.

"Seeing all the crazy things that have been going on in the world right now, one of the only ways people can show their solidarity and support for these hardworking people is by sending them something that will brighten up their day," Milgrim said.

Milgrim said she started small, inviting friends and family members to write cards, and that it has grown from there through word-of-mouth. The Friends of the Frontline Nassau Facebook group has since grown to nearly 300 members, with people posting photos of their cards. The group has even made its way into virtual classrooms, with teachers assigning the cards to their young students as a project. She knows a lot of the people submitting cards are children she can tell by the handwriting.

"I think a lot of parents are having their children do it in the community because it's a nice show of gratitude and it's a little art project for them as well," she said.

Milgrim said she's currently accepting virtual cards and plans to announce new initiatives regularly. That includes a similar effort for volunteer fire medics, police medics and emergency medical technicians.

"We're trying to figure out if it makes sense for us to collect them in a box again or have people support the USPS mailing service and mail them directly to fire medics and EMTs," she said.

The new method would directly support the U.S. Postal Service, which has seen mail volume plummet by nearly a third and expects to lose $13 billion in revenue due to the pandemic, according to The New York Times.

Additionally, other local hospitals will review cards in the near future, she said.

The new coronavirus forced New York to issue a statewide stay-at-home order to all nonessential workers and close schools until at least April 29. The death toll Wednesday climbed to 11,586, including over 1,000 in Nassau alone.

Here are the latest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the Port Washington area, according to Nassau County.

• Baxter Estates: 9
• Flower Hill: 47
• Manhasset: 69

• Manhasset Hills: 29
• Manorhaven: 51
• Plandome: 8
• Plandome Heights: 8
• Plandome Manor: 6
• Port Washington: 96
• Port Washington North: 13
• Sands Point: 20
• Roslyn: 53
• Roslyn Estates: 4
• Roslyn Harbor: 8
• Roslyn Heights: 76

See also:

• Port Washington Business Guide: What's Open Or Closed In Town
• New Yorkers Ordered To Wear Face Masks When Not Social Distancing
• Coronavirus In Nassau: Deaths In County Top 1,000
• Nassau Coronavirus Cases By Community: Hempstead Nears 1,000