Southeast Middle Students Hold Book and Toy Drive

Amber Hand, Vivian Le, Katlyn Bullard, Alvin Carlisle, Julie Mosqueda

Southeast Middle students, such as Vivian Le, Katlyn Bullard, Alvin Carlisle, Amber Hand and Julie Mosqueda, are happy about participating in the school’s holiday book and toy drive.

“It’s nice to give things to kids who don’t have as much as we do,” said Katlyn.

“When you feel like they don’t have anything, it makes you sad,” Amber said.

“It’s good to have something to open Christmas day,” said Alvin.

Rachel Holmes, Julie Mosqueda, David Brown, Jennifer Wells

Amber is a big fan of sports so she thought it would be good donate a soccer ball. Katlyn brought in a copy of a book she really likes about a girl who thinks her new neighbors might be werewolves. (They are.) Julie likes chapter books a lot, so she, too, decided to donate books.   

Officer David M. Brown, the Kernersville police officer who serves as the school’s School Resource Officer (SRO), organized the drive in partnership with Lisa Turner, the media coordinator, and the teachers in the music department: Rachel Holmes, Jennifer Wells and Gene Mabry, who was recently named the school’s Teacher of the Year.

In the past, students in the Jaguar Book Club collected books and found it a satisfying experience, Turner said. “They said, ‘Let’s do it again.’” Students made posters for the hallways. 

Brown sent letters home with parents. About 1,000 of the 1,300 students at Southeast participate in the music program, and Brown went to all of the music classes and invited students to participate. “My kids were very excited about going out and picking out something,” Wells said. “They were excited about being able to help.”

Students are continuing to bring in items. On Thursday, everything will be turned over to Impact Triad, a nonprofit organization that works with young people in the Kernersville area. Brown first organized a toy drive last year and was pleased with how it turned out so he wanted to do it again this year.

“It was a lot of work but it was worth it to put some smiles on some kids’ faces,” Brown said.