Claire Houck started a blanket drive at ACMS for the children in Levine Children’s Hospital.
Houck hand-made posters with information on the blanket drive to hang up around the school.
A total of 387 donations were collected at ACMS for the blanket drive.
Claire Houck started a blanket drive at ACMS for the children in Levine Children’s Hospital.
Houck hand-made posters with information on the blanket drive to hang up around the school.
A total of 387 donations were collected at ACMS for the blanket drive.
WARRENSVILLE — Ashe County Middle School has been on a mission for the past few weeks to collect donated blankets and stuffed animals for Levine Children’s Hospital. On March 11, students had brought in a combined total of 387 blankets and stuffed toys.
ACMS recently had a career week where students could choose a specific 30-minute Zoom to sit in on, ranging from McDonald’s to Skyline and more. When 13-year-old Claire Houck joined in on the Levine Children’s Hospital Zoom, she knew she wanted to do something for those in need.
“My little brother went to Levine’s when he was younger because he was very sick,” said Houck. “So when I saw the Zoom, I was immediately interested since I knew what it was. I’ve thought for a good while that I want to work at a place like Levine’s so I figured this would be a good opportunity for me to learn more about hospitals and the kids that would be there.”
After hearing from Levine’s Kendra Blevins, Houck knew she wanted to do something to help the kids.
“I went to Fawn Roark and told her I wanted to do a drive and she contacted Levine’s to set something up,” Houck said.
The administration at ACMS were both pleased and surprised by Houck’s ambition, so they gave her complete leadership of the drive. She would make announcements in the afternoon to remind students of the drive, she spoke directly with Levine’s to set up a tour and distribution of the blankets and she even got the community involved.
Houck’s church donated $200 to go toward buying blankets and stuffed animals for the children. Her mother’s workplace had also brought in a handful of donations.
Students were asked to bring in blankets and stuffed animals to their homeroom until March 11. The homeroom with the most donations was awarded an ice cream social.
Houck said she will personally hand deliver the blankets during the weekend of March 18.
“I was offered to come to Levine’s to take a tour and to bring the blankets to the children,” said Houck.
Houck stated after seeing her brother in the hospital and working with exceptional children, she knew she wanted to work at a place like Levine’s.
“I have applied for the Ashe Early College and I’m hoping to gain more experience and stay on track,” Houck said. “I’ve looked into working with kids through brain therapy and more.”
After the drive ended, the school collected a total of 387 donations. Houck said she is excited to head to Levine Children’s Hospital to deliver comfort to the kids in need.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen!
We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen!
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.