Zachary Lane Students Donate Bears To Red Cross

The American Red Cross helps nearly 70,000 victims of emergencies and disasters every year, many of them families with children.

For the past eight years Hildred Dungan of Eden Prairie has helped many victims of disasters in Minnesota and around the country. Dungan was on hand to collect the 122 stuffed animals that her daughter, Kris Haagenson's fourth grade class donated as a community service project at .

The idea for the project came up after the class read the book “Kid Reporters at Work" in Time for Kids and one of Haagenson’s students remarked that it would be cool to make a difference.

Haagenson said the class could do something to make a difference. Ideas were brainstormed, put on a ballot and voted on. The top vote-getters were donating the teddy bears and making fleece blankets.

The blanket part of the project was to make fleece blankets for kids who needed a blanket. The classroom of fourth graders was connected with a project called “Blankets for Peyton,” and the students constructed fleece blankets to be given to a variety of organizations.

Haagenson said the service work gave students a chance to be a part of somethign outside themselves.

"They got to organize the whole thing, I just gave some guidance, but it was really all them," she said. "I hope that they take this experience with them and realize they can do more for others in the future, even if it's a huge thing or not."

As a teacher, Haagenson hopes that their learning doesn't stop at the classroom door, but take the idea of helping others and spread it throughout their lives.

The bears part of the work spread to a schoolwide event when principal Randy Moberg caught wind of the idea. Students in Haagenson’s class wrote and acted out skits on Veterans Day for two schoolwide assemblies, and the students created signs about the donations needed.

"It feels good knowing we helped make kids smile when they get a bear," said Marissa Nelson, 9, of New Hope.

Though it was a challenge, it was fun for the students.

"Everybody got to share in it," said Lucas Ralph of Golden Valley. "Getting to help others was all worth it."

Finally the day came on Dec. 3 for the kids to count up their showcase full of stuffed animals. They gathered round, got in a line and took turns putting the bears into a box to count them then put them in plastic bags for Dungan to better transport them to the Red Cross downtown. The bears are part of the Red Cross' Be Safe Bear project.

Dungan said the bears will be divided among emergency responders like herself to have on hand when responding to a disaster like a fire at a home or apartment or other event like a tornado destroying homes.