Union City Elementary Collects School Supplies For Hurricane Victims

By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–It’s a classic case of something good coming from something bad.
In the aftermath of the devastation left by Hurricane Florence in North Carolina back in September, Union City Elementary School students have reached out to help one particular school district in Robeson County.
A project to collect donated backpacks and school supplies was spearheaded by UC kindergarten teacher Jessica Graham and those materials are to be shipped to Lumberton (NC) this weekend to aid several displaced schools and their students.
“I was just watching the news and seeing all of the damage and devastation and I thought it would be a great opportunity to teach our students about giving and kindness,” Graham said. “We always want our kids to see things outside of school and to understand both how fortunate they are and how good it would make them feel to help others.
“They (students) watch the news and hear things, too, and we had several come in and talk about what they’d seen and heard. They were really excited about the idea to send students over there things they needed for school after we explained to them all that had been lost over there.”
Hurricane Florence was a once a Category 4 storm that ended up dropping almost 36 inches of rain in some parts of North Carolina, causing massive freshwater flooding. At one time the storm had winds of 130 miles per hour, too, and it left damages estimated at $16.7M, according to one news source.
Looking for a particular area to assist, Graham said fellow UCES teacher Angela Searcy had a friend in the area and suggested the Robeson County system that has 17 schools.
“We tried to email and make contact with several places over there, but there was just so much damage and so many people displaced, we didn’t get a lot of response initially,” Graham said. “Then, Mrs. Searcy mentioned she had a friend who taught at a school there and we were able to get in touch with someone.”
Both students and teachers from the entire UCES donated supplies. There were multiple boxes and bags of the essentials collected over a six weeks period.
“I think we, as teachers, were really touched because we know how much we put into our classrooms and how devastated we would be if it was all gone,” Graham said. “What we’ve collected is all school supplies.
“Mrs. (Lindsey Beth) Adkins came up with the idea of a gift card, and we are going to send them one of those, too, to buy things they need that we don’t know about.”
Mrs. Graham said she was overwhelmed by the response of both kids and grown-ups.
“It says a lot about both our students and their parents, that they would want to reach out and help people they don’t even know in a time of need,” she concluded.
“Teaching kindness and giving to people outside your own little world is a trait the kids can take with them as they grow and mature. We’re always looking for situations – both in the classroom and outside of school – where we can set good examples for them to follow that will carry on to adulthood.”
 
 
Photo: clockwise, from front, Riley Nordin, kindergarten; Alanna Davis, 2^nd grade; Hudson Reeves, 1^st grade; Randy Huynh, 3^rd grade; Jessica Graham, kindergarten teacher; Alijah Simpson, 4^th grade. (Mike Hutchens photo)