Members of Athletes for Good pose for a picture after creating hug bags.
Brooke Jones, Lydia Rothrock, Brelyn Sturgill and Jackson Martin pose while creating hug bags for local law enforcement.
Grayson Elliott, Lydia Rothrock, Brelyn Sturgill, Jackson Martin and Brooke Jones pose with the hug bags their club created for local law enforcement.
Dagan Newsome puts together hug bags with Athletes for Good.
Brooke Scheffler creates hug bags with Athletes for Good.
Brooke Jones and Orlando Leon put together hug bags as part of Athletes for Good.
Members of Athletes for Good pose for a picture after creating hug bags.
Brooke Jones, Lydia Rothrock, Brelyn Sturgill and Jackson Martin pose while creating hug bags for local law enforcement.
Grayson Elliott, Lydia Rothrock, Brelyn Sturgill, Jackson Martin and Brooke Jones pose with the hug bags their club created for local law enforcement.
Dagan Newsome puts together hug bags with Athletes for Good.
Brooke Scheffler creates hug bags with Athletes for Good.
Brooke Jones and Orlando Leon put together hug bags as part of Athletes for Good.
BOONE — A student club at Watauga High School recently created approximately 100 hug bags to give to local law enforcement.
Hug bags are filled with stuffed animals, snacks, candy and other small items law enforcement officers can give to children they may encounter at potentially traumatic events.
Boone Police Officer Kat Eller said that the idea came about after talking with a community member who wanted to donate items to the police department. They got together and decided that putting items in a gallon Ziplock bag would allow officers to keep them in their trunks since officers don’t have a lot of space for extra items.
“That way, the officers can just give it to whatever kid that they may encounter that were in some sort of traumatic event whether it’s a just a simple car accident, which can be really traumatic for a kid,” Eller said. “It could be the (Department of Social Services) intervention. It could be a domestic situation. Even a traffic stop with a child in the back. Anything like that, through a child’s eyes, might be bad.”
From her experience in the field as an officer, Eller said that when a child gets a sticker or something small like that when encountering an officer can help offset the trauma they may experience.
“I mean, you just see the kids demeanor change,” Eller said.
Lydia Rothrock and Brelyn Sturgill are co-presidents of Athletes for Good, a student club at WHS. Rothrock said they look at different needs within the community and see how their organization could help.
The club tries to do one service project a month. For March, the club created the hug bags for the Boone Police Department and Watauga County Sheriff’s Office.
“Every single individual in the club who helped bring in stuff and helped package the (bags), it made them feel really good,” Rothrock said. “Just to see that we as individuals and students can make a difference in our local community and we can kind of give back feels really nice.”
Outside of club members bringing in items for the hug bags, Sturgill said they also received donations from the community. In April, Stugill said the club is looking at ways to support the Watauga County Humane Society and also Hope Pregnancy.
Eller said she is also working to find out ways to get hug bags to more law enforcement and first responders in the area.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Thanks to modern technologies, you and more people are reading the Watauga Democrat than ever before. Freedom of the press is essential to preserving democracy: But a free press isn't free. It takes significant resources for Mountain Times Publications' 10 full-time journalists to provide credible, fact-based and ethical journalism in the High Country. So, we are asking you to join our advertisers and print subscribers in supporting local journalism with your dollar. The Watauga Democrat does not have a paywall, but your financial support will help sustain these services that you use to inform your decisions and engage with your community. CLICK HERE TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION
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.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!
Trusted local news has never been more important, but providing the information you need, information that can change sometimes minute-by-minute, requires a partnership with you, our readers. Please consider making a contribution today to support this vital resource that you and countless others depend on.