Students at West Buncombe Elementary School (WBES) shared their thanks with teachers from Charlotte-area school McKee Road Elementary School (MRES) for their generous donations of lightly-loved stuffed animals and books.
When students in the 5th grade Service Club at MRES heard about Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on Western North Carolina, they knew they had to do something to help. Their former music teacher, Ms. Dee Tsintzos, now teaches at WBES - a connection that brought them to create a donation drive of stuffed animals to share with the students of West Buncombe. The stuffed animal drive became so popular that books were also included, and tons of both were brought to Ms. Tsintzos class to distribute to the school, wrapped in packaging that students at MRES helped design.
“Many donation drives were for essentials, and those were important,” said Erica Ficker, a teacher at MRES who helped deliver the items. “But for the students, being able to donate their gently-loved friends and knowing they were going to help others was really impactful. It was something that they connected with.”
WBES students were brought in to see the toys and thank the teachers from Charlotte before Ms. Tsintzos took them back to class to pass them out equally and orderly. The West Buncombe kids buzzed with excitement to take home new plush friends, connecting with kids over 100 miles away who had opened their hearts to give their toys new homes. As the temperature drops around Buncombe County, West Buncombe students can cuddle up to their new friends knowing that they are cared for even beyond the Buncombe County community.
