KINGS MILLS, Ohio – Students from Kings Local Schools are sending letters of support to Florida students in the wake of the mass shooting at a high school last week.
They’re simple messages from kids to kids letting them know they’re not alone.
At Kings Mills Elementary, fourth graders’ hearts are going out to students at the high school where 17 died and an elementary school a mile away, where teacher Lynn Weed’s brother is an assistant principal.
“He had his students in lockdown of course when this was taking place,” Weed said. “It was very, very, very frightening. They’re still struggling … and he did say he really thinks this would help morale."
It’s helping Kings Mills kids like Akshita, too.
“It makes me feel happy because when some people are sad, it makes me feel sad, and when my friends and other kids are happy, it makes me feel happy,” Akshita said.
Kings High students also in the act. Junior Sarah Drees started a Kindness Club.
“I started the club because you never really know what people are going through, so I just thought it would be a good way to like make people happy,” Sarah said.
Students across Kings Local Schools started writing cards after Dawn Gould, community relations coordinator, saw that a teacher at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School was asking for them.
“Because when something like this happens, it doesn’t just hurt that school. It hurts everybody because it can happen to any of us,” Gould said.
The response was so overwhelming the Florida high school sent a follow up message asking for banners instead of individual notes.
The hearts and cards the Kings kids made will go on banners.
“High school and middle school is a hard time for everyone and I just think that maybe doing something to make kids feel better would make it easier on everyone,” said eighth grader Alex Sullivan.
