By Lydia Stonerook
In a matter of six days, the Leesburg community gathered hundreds of baby products for those in Texas who were affected by Hurricane Harvey. Principal Pamela Croft, after watching news broadcasts about the devastation caused by the hurricane, contacted testing coordinator Mrs. Summer Crawford to organize an All Things Baby Drive.
“The initial plan was that we were going to ship everything to the Dallas Diaper Bank but once we realized we had way too much stuff to ship, we found a company out of Sterling that are coming to pick up everything,” said Crawford.
Crawford, who is also the sponsor of the Student Council Association, called on the assistance of members of the members to organize all of the donated products.
“I would say [we collected] over a hundred boxes of diapers and over a hundred boxes of wipes. It’s very overwhelming honestly. I’ve been in schools for a couple years now and we do different fundraisers and donations and this has exceeded anything that anyone could have ever imagined. People were calling me that don’t have kids here and just dropping things off. I had a woman call me on Friday and she thought it was ending so she was bringing everything that afternoon. I came in Tuesday morning after Labor Day and the front hallway was packed again. It was very successful,” said Crawford.
Senior Brandon Meyer, a member of SCA, helped organize the products after bringing in several donations himself.
“It was very heartwarming to see all of the people in our community making an effort to bring supplies in. There was more stuff than any of us were expecting and it was a great feeling,” he said.
Math teacher, Mrs. Tina Rumer, brought the largest load of donations, filling her entire car with supplies.
“I had placed a message on my facebook page and my close friend who owns a daycare in West Virginia put out a note that we were donating and the parents there started bringing in items. I also had two personal donations from friends and then my own items, which I packed up and brought in,” she said.
If you’re looking for more ways to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey, text HARVEY to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.
