Latest news with #BuddyBags
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
East High School offers ‘Buddy Bags' to children in the hospital
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — A local high school's student council is helping bring kids in the hospital some relief and comfort. 'Buddy Bags are supposed to simulate what Child Life specialists do in hospitals,' Sioux City East High School sophomore and student council member Maggie Taylor said. 'The idea is there's fidget toys, some coloring pages and stuff like that, just so if they're in the hospital for long-term care and they're like bored or they're getting overwhelmed, it's some way that it can help them calm down.' Ribbon cut for new interactive arcade at Boys & Girls Clubs of Siouxland The idea of the 'Buddy Bags' came from Taylor last year, as she herself shares the same experience with childcare. 'I do have a genetic disorder called Cowden syndrome, and that means I have a lot of doctor's appointments in Sanford Medical and Mayo Clinic, and they both have great Child Life programs, and so local hospitals really don't have anything like that,' she said. 'So we thought these bags would be a great way to bring that into the hospital.' After hearing about Taylor's idea, the student council agreed to start the project. However, they ran into some problems at first. 'We struggled a lot our first year making them because we just didn't know what the right things to do were,' Taylor said. 'But we figured out that we really have to keep it sanitary, especially since they're in the hospital, so we started using gloves and if any of us were just feeling a little sick, because I know last time we made them he was sick and we didn't want him to cough all over them and infect them' The Buddy Bag project has received a lot of positive feedback from hospital staff. 'They love having them,' Taylor said. 'They've been handing them out in the ER, so when children come in with families or they're in the ER, specifically giving it to them just as something quick. We went to talk to them last semester. When we gave [the Buddy Bags] to them, they were really interested and hopeful to have more.' UnityPoint Health – St. Luke's shows off new emergency department renovations So far, the student council's project focuses on elementary school-aged children. However, Taylor hopes to expand this program to all ages. 'We're trying to look into doing it for each age group, so having like little kids' bags for toddlers and then starting with teenagers and stuff like that,' Taylor said. 'But we're still trying to figure out ways to make that plausible and figure out how that would work.' East High School is relying on donations for this project. You can visit the student council's to learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
CHS students create Buddy Bags for police
Searching for community service ideas brought about a unique project for SkillsUSA students at Cleburne High School this school year. A former corrections officer, Nathan VanRyn is the SkillsUSA leader advisor and law enforcement teacher. He proposed the idea of producing bags with sensory items for Cleburne Police Department officers, so if they responded to a call with a child present, specifically an autistic child, they could soothe them. 'Our school mascot is the Yellow Jacket,' he said. 'So, we decided to call them the Yellow Jacket Buddy Bags.' VanRyn's students ran with the idea and began researching helpful items for interacting with children, especially when there is an altercation and police must enter a home. 'Interacting well with the children in these situations can make such a difference in how they deal with and interpret the situation, both now and in their futures ... especially in cases of domestic violence,' he said. Inside the bags are noise-reducing headphones, sunglasses, fidget toys, a weighted blanket and communication cards for non-verbal children. The students created the cards themselves in Cava. Each card contained a picture and a word in Spanish and in English. 'So, if the child struggles to talk or understand and is scared, the police can use the items to distract, calm and communicate with them,' VanRyn said. 'They can point to the picture to help the officer understand how he or she is feeling and help alleviate confusion and calm emotions.' Sometimes, police may return to the same address numerous times. In cases like that, 911 dispatchers log notes and reports from the calls. 'So if there is a child and they use the bag and the child responds well to a specific sensory item, they can put that in the notes for the next time,' VanRyn said. The students conducted several events to raise funds to purchase the items for the bags. They included a community drive for donations, donation boxes at local businesses and a flyer they developed to advertise the need. The school district shared the project on social media. They also set up an Amazon list of needed items and shared the link. 'This service project gave me a feeling of accomplishment,' CHS senior Alexis Alvarado said. 'There are not a lot of things that give you the feeling of truly making a difference, but this project did.' Once all items were collected at the end of November, the students put together 21 Buddy Bags. Ten went to CPD, since they have 10 patrol cars out at a time, and the others went to student resource officers at the local elementary schools, middle schools and CHS. 'I helped create the communication cards and I was so excited to explain them to the police officers,' student Alize Johnson said. 'This project was very meaningful.' The officers who received the Buddy Bags were grateful for the items to help with their job. 'In the more than 20 years I've been with the Cleburne Police Department, I've seen a lot of useful donations,' SRO Wesley Mackey. 'This was probably the most researched, well thought out and useful donation the department has received.'
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Dixon Buddy Bags, Jersey Mike's Subs raising money for student meals Feb. 5
Feb. 4—DIXON — Buddy Bags of Dixon is hosting a fundraiser from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, at Jersey Mike's Subs, 1677 S. Galena Ave. in Dixon, where 20% of all sales will benefit Dixon Public School students. Buddy Bags is a 501(c)(3) providing weekend meals for Dixon Public School students whose families may need assistance. Buddy Bags Vice President Barb Fane said her 22 volunteers pack two breakfasts, two lunches, two snacks and two drinks at the end of each week for approximately 250 participating students. The food is purchased locally or donated by individuals, groups and organizations, and Fane said the program costs about $54,000 each year. Other meal programs providing assistance to children Mary Jo Edge of Sterling Buddy Bags said her 12 volunteers pack meals for approximately 150 kids every week. Volunteers meet every Wednesday at the First Presbyterian Church, 410 Second Ave. in Sterling. They even get help a few times each year from local churches who send kids in their confirmation programs to pack meals. "It doesn't take them long because they make it like a race to see how fast they can get done packing bags," Edge said. "They enjoy it and it's a learning experience that maybe not all of their classmates have the same advantages and food at home." First Presbyterian Church in Sterling also hosts its annual Souper Bowl food drive in coordination with Boy Scout Sunday. Scouts help with the service, and the congregation collects easy-to-open food items like soup cans and mac and cheese cups. The goal is to ensure even younger children can access and prepare the food, if needed. For more information or to volunteer, call Buddy Bags of Dixon President Kathy Lane at 815-677-3699 or Mary Jo Edge at 815-625-0452.
