(EL PASO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT – March 8, 2024) — The Polk Elementary School student council is bringing smiles to some of El Paso’s littlest patients.
On Friday, March 8, the organization collected and donated more than 100 stuffed animals to the El Paso Children’s Hospital. The stuffed toys were then distributed to the patients who are admitted at the facility. Some of the stuffed toys included the classic teddy bear, characters from Disney cartoons and more. Organizers said that a part of their mission is to find ways to spread kindness in the community.
“We have a kindness challenge every year, and we just want to teach the students to be kind to each other, family members, the community and even animals,” said Polk Elementary School Counselor Nora Finley. “We also want to teach the students the importance of giving back. It’s important because when they start learning at this young age, then they grow up as adults with good values.”
The student council collected the stuffed toys during the month of February as part of a kindness initiative. Student-organizers said giving back to the community is very important to its program.
“I feel like doing these types of acts will help us when we become adults because it’ll remind us about the importance of giving back to people,” said 5th grade Polk Elementary School student Emma Florez. “Sometimes people are going through hard times and it’s important for someone to be there for them.”
Destiny Blanchette, a teacher at Polk Elementary, serves as the student council advisor. She said the students came up with the idea to donate the stuffed animals to help those in need. “The students made all the advertisements for it, all the posters for it and even communicated to the community about the stuffy toy drive,” Blanchette said. “We really want our students to be proactive, be leaders, and of course be kind to each other.”
The group has plans to continue spreading kindness later this year. The student council is turning its attention to helping those at the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which helps families with sick children. “We plan on stopping by the Ronald McDonald House later this month, and we’re going to make cookies and pizza for the people there and hopefully brighten someone’s day,” said 5th-grade Polk Elementary School student Elena Cueva.
In addition to those events, the group has more acts of kindness planned later in the year with at least one event per month. “I think the student council gives them a purpose because sometimes you don’t know how the lessons you’ve learned in the classroom will help you in the real world, and when you’re doing things like this, I think it gives them a better vision how they can put those lessons and teachings to use,” Blanchette said.
