Texarkana Independent School District Teddy Bear Blanket Drive

The Texarkana Independent School District will have a teddy bear and kids blanket drive this month.

To bring awareness to April’s Child Abuse Prevention Month, all Texarkana Independent School District Elementary School campuses will be accepting donations of Teddy Bears and Small Children’s Blankets from April 5 – 30.

The items that are collected will be donated to area Child Protective Services and Police Departments.

As part of our efforts, Allie Graves, Miss Texas Outstanding Teen and 2020 Graduate of Texas High School recorded a special message that was played out to elementary classrooms this morning.

In the video, Allie Graves a 2020 Texas High graduate talked about her personal experience with child abuse at the age of 4. After being taken to the CASA center in Texarkana she was then put with her adopted family. She also goes into detail about the blanket and Teddy bear she received while at the center and how she still has the bear now.

She also talks about how the students can make a difference not only by getting those teddy bears and blanket donations. Students were also encouraged to wear blue today and share their pictures with the tag #noexcuseforchildabuse, or #whatlovecando.

There is also a little competition between the schools to see which one will get the most donation of teddy bears and blankets. The winning class will get an ice cream party for their students. closes out the video talking about that 1 in 5 kids are the victim of abuse. To see the complete video here.

For more information, contact: Sherry Nelson at 903.793.7561 ext. 130