Stockings filled in memory of local teen

As many as 290 patients in Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh will get a Christmas surprise in memory of Olivia Scott.
Olivia would have been a McGuffey High School senior this year. In February, she had the first symptoms of what was determined to be liver cancer. She died on July 1.
Her family decided they would create a foundation in her name. The Olivia Scott Foundation has donated to other families dealing with cancer, as well as schools, said Marc Scott, Olivia’s father.
The first foundation board meeting was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. There, Olivia’s mother, Ann Scott, talked to one of the board members about what to do with Olivia’s Christmas stocking.
They discussed giving stockings to the hospital because Olivia spent so much time there.
They put notices in school about it. Both places where the Scotts work donated, Marc Scott said.
He said they went from hoping to give stockings to every child in the cancer unit to believing they can provide a stocking for every child in the hospital. There are 290 beds in the hospital, though they may not all be filled.
They will put all kinds of gifts in the stockings, including socks, slippers, yo-yos, Silly Putty, cards, small board games, happy DVDs, crayons and puzzles.
“I am amazed with the bad economy that everyone has been so good to us through Olivia’s battle with cancer,” Marc Scott said. “People are still giving like there’s no tomorrow. It’s just overwhelming that people have been so giving.”
He said it’s helped give Christmas a different meaning for the family.
“Instead of feeling down, it’s uplifting,” Scott said.
They will drop the stockings off on Tuesday. Hospital staff will inspect the toys before giving the stockings to the children.
Anyone who wants to donate can do so at Jessop Community Credit Union, 1100 Green St., Washington.