By Hann Henson
BCS Communications
Weaverville Primary spent the month of March collecting toys for the Jessie Rees Foundation’s Joy Jar project. The initiative, part of the foundation’s NEGU (Never Ever Give Up) Project, collects toys for children fighting childhood cancer.
“The Joy Drive is where we gather toys from our community and put them together for kids that are sick in the hospital,” said first-grader Rachel Miller. “So they can feel happy when they’re sick.”
“In March, my classes have been learning about how to be kind kids,” said school counselor Nicole Olenick. “We thought this would be a great service project for our Student Lighthouse Team because it’s all about learning to love other people, be kind to them, and spread joy. We even made cards for local children in the hospital as well.”
The project involved setting up donation boxes, lovingly decorated by Weaverville Primary students, and collecting toys in each classroom. Those toys were then collected together and sent off to the Jessie Rees Foundation, where they are collected into large 64-ounce jars called “Joy Jars” and given to children fighting cancer in hospitals across the country.
“Brooklyn received her first joy jar at five years old in 2012 when she was receiving radiation treatment,” said Brittany Moraweitz, mother of a Buncombe County student who passed from childhood cancer. “She enjoyed the jars because they were packed full (literally) of little reminders to have fun! In her 14 years, four months, and five days on this earth she found and created joy in every day, no matter what.”
“I was inspired by Brooklyn, who was one of my students, to do something more than just writing cards,” said first-grade teacher Elizabeth Penley. “So we reached out to the Jessie Rees foundation to start a Joy Drive, and it’s been a success!”
“Students need to learn to read and do math, but we also have to teach them how to be good people,” said Principal Mr. Honeycutt. “Taking care of each other- that is a habit they can learn now and take into life.”