FROM STAFF REPORTS

Mrs. Ward-Carr’s fifth-grade class at Oak Mountain Intermediate School recently teamed with Children’s Hospital to help collect funds to supply stuffed lions to children when they are admitted to the hospital.

Each child is given a stuffed lion named Simon and a book that helps ease the apprehension and fear going to the hospital can cause.

In only one week, the class did chores and collected money from friends and neighbors and was able to purchase 23 lions for the hospital.

Each lion has a tag on it saying who was responsible for the purchase so the patient would know someone cares that he or she is there.

Chaplain Gordon Pugh came to the school to personally thank the kids for what they had done. He showed them pictures of actual patients with the lions and they were surprised that not only younger children appreciated the lions, but there were teenagers with them too.

He expressed how grateful the hospital was for their concern and compassion for others and hoped, as they grew older, that they would continue to help when they saw a need.

The class has decided to do continue the project