A former patient of Valley Children's Hospital gives back and gets others to help

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A former Valley Children's patient is showing her appreciation for the hospital in a big way by getting her classmates involved.

Students at Liberty High School just wrapped up their third annual Letter-A-Thon and this year, got some help from others in their district. Through the fundraiser, $775 dollars was raised for Valley Children's Hospital. In all students from four different schools wrote 1,500 letters to patients.

This campaign was put together by a high school senior who not only was a patient at the hospital but founded an organization at her school to encourage more students to take on community service projects. "I knew that I wanted to start something at my school to get my peers also involved in community service. I have over 300 hours of community service put into the hospital mainly and various other community service events," said Claire Copher, Liberty High School Senior.

At Wednesday's event, the students presented the hospital with 1,500 handwritten letters, along with the check.

This is the first time other campuses got involved. Students at Ranchos Middle School and two elementary schools wrote letters too.