Social organizations team up for stuffed animal drive

By Ryan, October 1, 2015

By Deirdre Logan, Staff Writer//

A mother tucks in her child, sings him to sleep, and kisses him goodnight. In this picturesque moment, however, there is something missing — a stuffed animal. Take a step back from the situation and see that this family is living on welfare and cannot afford to buy one. For many families in High Point, this is a reality. That’s why High Point University’s Sigma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Chi Omega, and Kappa Sigma, teamed up to make a difference by hosting a stuffed animal drive.
“We set out large cardboard boxes at our houses and collected stuffed animals for the Salvation Army,” Nicole Bayeur of Tri Sigma, said.
The drive, which was held during Greek Week, was extremely successful, according to Alpha Chi Omega’s Jenn Silva. At the end of the week, the organizations had collected over 150 stuffed animals.
“This was the first year we did the stuffed animal drive,” said Silva. “We wanted to do something to give back to our community in a better way. At the end of the week, the boxes were overflowing.”
Originally the organizations had intended to collect stuffed animals for the local police stations. That way whenever an officer had to respond to a bad accident or investigate a traumatic situation, they could give the stuffed animals to children for comfort. Fortunately, the station had an abundant supply and recommended that they donate to the Salvation Army, which had a desperate need.
“It was a great idea because you see families without the ability to provide toys for their kids and it really hits close to home,” Sam Fuller of Kappa Sigma said.
Not only did this drive benefit the community, it also benefitted the organizations. Bayeur explained the benefits of hosting a stuffed animal drive. “We really came together as a Greek Week team and worked with each other to make a difference,” she said. “This event is a great opportunity to make a positive impact on the community.”
Based on the success of this year, the organizations are considering doing it again in the future.
“I felt like this time was successful and next time could be even more successful,” Fuller, said. “I think we should absolutely do it again next year.”