Going to sleep is hard enough but when it isn’t your own bed or your own home, it can be unsettling. Children, especially, suffer from the effects of sleeping in places unfamiliar to them. One school project considered the challenge of making children feel more secure as they slip into slumberland. They believe homemade pillows may do the trick.
“The idea was to assist with preparing children ages 2-10 for bedtime. The pillow covers were handmade by the students as they worked in teams,” explained Relecia Foushee, a community resource advocate who was contacted by LaDonna Wilson, a teacher at Jamestown’s C.J. Green Education Center for students with special needs.
Mrs. Wilson’s students, ranging in ages from 15 to 22, prepared the boxes for the children as part of a community project. The colorful pillows were just one of the items the students chose to go into the “Buddy Boxes.” A grant, written by Mrs. Wilson, funded the materials needed for the project.
Ms. Foushee is an Early Intervention Service Coordinator with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. As a member of the Community Advisory Council for YWCA Greensboro, Ms. Foushee thought of the family shelter as the project’s benefactor. She delivered the Buddy Boxes to the YWCA in late May 2016.
“I chose the YWCA Family Shelter as we know that many families in the area come in for assistance.”
Ms. Foushee plans on letting other service organizations know about the shelter and hopes they will make useful donations like those from the C.J. Greene students.
