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NILES -- Three students at Niles McKinley High School have partnered with the Niles Rotary Club to create care kits for students grieving the loss of a loved one.
Kayla Sprague, Madison Bickerstaff and Jules Money, all seniors, have helped make tie blankets and have collected various items, including coloring books, journals and teddy bears, to present to students dealing with grief as part of the Bear Project.
Money said she enjoys helping with the Bear Project as a way to care for other students in Niles.
"It's great, knowing what they're going through and being able to put a smile on their face when they hug the bear and letting them know that people know what they're going through and that we're always there to help," Money said.
David Buttar, a member of Niles Rotary, said the Bear Project has been providing toy bears to those dealing with grief, including those in the school district, for about a decade.
Buttar said the project slowed down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Rotary Club has been looking to get it going again with help from the school district.
"I don't even know if people would have taken a bear during COVID," he said. "So then this year, as rotarians, we still had a few bears left. We wanted to get the program back and initiated. So we just reached out to the schools and tried to find an organization."
Abbey Chieffo, a teacher at Niles McKinley, is one of the points of contact at the high school. Chieffo said that previously, a school organization that no longer exists helped with the Bear Project.
Now, Chieffo said the students helping with the project are part of student council.
Chieffo said Sprague, Bickerstaff and Money were selected to be a part of the Bear Project because of their character.
"I picked them just because of their empathy toward everyone in the school," Chieffo said. "They're seniors and I've built relationships with them over the last four years, and just knowing them and knowing how they are as human beings, looking around, you just notice people who stand out. These three, they really do stand out."
Money said the effort she and the other students put into creating the blankets and gathering the other components of the care kits is worthwhile. She said while they do not fully understand what the grieving students are going through, it is nice to help in any way possible.
"We just go to the intermediate school or wherever and we just let them know that we're here for them and that it's OK to be sad," Money said. "Honestly the worst part about all of this is that we don't know exactly what they're going through and it's hard to be able to help them. So we feel like this is the best way to let them know that we're all here for them."
Sprague said she is grateful for the chance to help students dealing with grief.
"I'm just really thankful for having the opportunity to help other students who are going through a tough time," Sprague said. "It's just a good opportunity for the other students to see that there is someone there for the kids."
Bickerstaff said it is nice to be able to provide grieving students with a physical, tangible gift in hopes to encourage them. She said it is fulfilling to see the student's reaction to the care package.
"Just seeing their emotions and how their faces light up when we give them bears and blankets and all that, it's just really nice to see how they react to it," she said.
Money described one distinct memory of when she, Sprague and Bickerstaff dropped a care package off to a student at the intermediate school. She said the bear, blanket and other gifts completely changed the student's day.
"One girl was having a bad day and we heard about it," Money said. "This happened to be the same day we were bringing in the bear. She thought she was going down to the office because she was getting in trouble. But when she opened up the present and saw the bear, she hugged it so tightly and started crying. It was probably the most heartfelt thing. All three of us looked at each other, just feeling what she felt in that moment was very great."
Chieffo said Sprague, Money and Bickerstaff have done a great job preparing the kits to help the students in need.
"Just watching them, how they interacted with the students who they provided the care kits for, it was just so nice to see," Chieffo said.