Coronavirus Help: Simple Gesture To Frontline Hospital Staff Leaves Student Speechless
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It was a shock for one student when her senior year at UCONN came to an abrupt end.
Deflated, 21-year-old Katie Virgona returned home to Bellmore, Long Island, and hunkered down with her family.
She had her internship at NYU Winthrop as a physician's assistant to look forward to, reports CBS2's Jennifer McLogan. In late March, she dug in her heels, but soon the coronavirus closed that door too.
"Right now since everyone is kind of alone it's what you can do with the situation," said Virgona, now a volunteer.
With $200, she drove herself to BJ's and loaded up her car with snacks for the front line: Popcorn, chocolate, granola and juice.
"Regardless of how small that act is, I was just in my kitchen making bags," she said about her 500 tiny bags filled with goodies.
The "smile snacks" were for the medical staff to enjoy on a break.
She then went back in the car to deliver the treats to those frontline workers at NYU Winthrop and Good Samaritan hospitals.
"It really made me speechless when I was giving them the bags," said.
Just a simple gesture from one reaped a grand reward when the overworked medical teams took time with an unexpected gesture that brought Virgona to tears.
"The way they were so grateful for it, made me feel like I was really making a difference," she said.
