AUGUSTA — Residents of the Bracken County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center received a special gift from the students of Augusta Independent School on Friday.
AIS students, carrying bags of stuffed animals, stopped by the center around 1 p.m. Friday to deliver a teddy bear to each resident in the facility.
AIS Counselor Chad Bryant said the students collected the bears during a teddy bear toss at a recent basketball game.
“The community was asked to bring in a bear and if they did, they received free entry,” he said. “That was how it started. At half time, everyone tossed the bears onto the court. We had a ton of stuffed animals that were collected that night. The kids are giving the residents a bear and then whatever is left will be donated to the Women’s Crisis Center.”
Bryant said it was always the goal to donate to the center.
“It was always the goal, but we received so many that we can donate to the Women’s Crisis Center,” he said. “It was the first time we’ve done this and it turned out so well that we hope to do something similar in the future.”
Stephen Cordle, 18, a senior at AIS, said he was happy to be involved in giving the bears to the residents.
“It’s a neat experience to come up here and be able to hand these out and see the excitement on the resident’s faces as we hand them the teddy bear and hopefully make their day a little brighter.”
Nicole Arthur, 18, senior at AIS, said she enjoyed helping to make the resident’s day a little better.
“It’s a great experience,” she said. “All of the people here are so happy to receive the teddy bears. It just makes your day better when you know you can brighten someone else’s day.
Celma Sweet, a resident of the facility, received a small, brown bear from one of the students. She showed the bear off to other residents in the room.
“I love it,” she said. “It helps calm me down. I’ll have something to sleep with. They help you. When you need a friend, you’ve got your teddy bear.”
Tiffany Thomas, director of the facility, said she was pleased to have the kids donate the bears.
“It’s very nice and it gets residents involved with the community and with the school,” she said. “They love when the kids come. It really makes them happy.”
Thomas said there were 28 residents in the facility on Friday. Each one receive a bear from the students.
