Way to Go: Long Beach students help Hurricane Florence victims
Long Beach Middle School seventh-graders Kayla Cadou, left, and Kelis Walsh organized a stuffed-animal drive to help children in North Carolina affected by Hurricane Florence. Credit: Long Beach School District
Two Long Beach students are bringing comfort to children in North Carolina affected by Hurricane Florence.
Kayla Cadou and Kelis Walsh, seventh-graders at Long Beach Middle School, launched a drive last month that collected stuffed animals for prekindergartners and kindergartners at College Road Early Childhood Center in Wilmington. Their goal, which they met, was to make sure all 171 students at the center received a stuffed animal.
The girls were inspired by the contributions their community received after superstorm Sandy in 2012. "We remembered how when we were hit by Sandy, we didn't have a lot," Cadou, 12, said. Of the volume of donations they have received, she said: "I was very surprised. I didn't think we were going to get as many as we did."
Cadou and Walsh developed the idea as part of a goal-setting assignment in their home economics class and expanded it to involve the entire school. They set up a collection bin in the school's lobby and spread the word using social media and the school's morning announcements.
Donated stuffed animals included standard teddy bears, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh, they said.
"These girls are go-getters," principal Paul Romanelli said. "I'm proud of them and very impressed with their initiative."
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
