Number of Participants: 82
Hours Donated: 1
Value of Time Served: $693
Event Amount Raised: $400
Event Type: Children & Youth
Sport: Schools
Date: January 7, 2020
Location:
Levittown
NY, USA
About:
Eighty-two seventh and eighth grade students from Jonas E. Salk Middle School in the Levittown Public Schools recently raised $400 for the nonprofit organization, Kids In Danger, during the school’s annual Tyler’s Teddies fundraiser.
The fundraiser was created after a 10-month-old named Tyler was fatally entrapped in the side of a drop-side crib. The crib continued to be advertised in stores as the number one product for safety. KID is dedicated to improving child safety products and the organization shares Tyler’s story, among others, in an effort to raise awareness and support laws that keep kids safe.
Led by English teacher Michele Witte, the student volunteers sold teddy bears for $3 during their lunch periods to students and staff. Those who purchased a bear were encouraged to either keep it and promise to share kindness or give it to a family member or friend and ask them to do a random act of kindness in return during the holiday season.
“I decided to get into the Tyler’s Teddies movement because all the money was going towards such a great cause to protect kids from dangerous things and I just thought that was great,” said seventh grader Brooke Todhunter.
Students at Jonas E. Salk Middle School wore pajamas on Dec. 20 to show the world that they joined the Tyler’s Teddies movement, raised awareness and spread kindness. The students also participated in the school’s Holiday Jamboree that day where they were stationed at a table and encouraged their peers to make a Tyler’s Teddies bag, writing what their act of kindness was.
“I hope that the students did the act of kindness that we asked, and I hope that they learned something from it,” said seventh grader Shea Slavens. “We want them to not just do an act of kindness when they buy a teddy but to do it whenever.”
Photo caption: Jonas E. Salk Middle School students raised $400 for the nonprofit organization, Kids In Danger, by selling teddy bears as part of their Tyler’s Teddies fundraiser.
Photo courtesy of the Levittown Public Schools