By EMILY REED

Special to the Reporter

HOOVER – Students at Greystone Elementary School spent the week collecting items to send to flood victims in Texas as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

“Some of our students have family in Texas, so they have heard about the floods in that state,” Greystone Elementary School Principal Stacey Stocks said. “We even have a student who shared that his dad took his boat and went and helped rescue people. We also have students with family in Florida and even have some faculty who have had evacuees staying with them.”

Stocks said the idea for collecting items originated with the school’s assistant superintendent, who passed along information from Middle Schoolers Unite of Birmingham regarding collecting items for flood victims.

Middle Schoolers Unite is partnering with Mission to North America Disaster Response, who has agreed to send a truck to pick up the items to deliver to Texas, Stocks said.

Students at Greystone Elementary School were asked to bring donations throughout the week to help compile “flood bucket kits.”

A list of items acceptable for donations was provided to students, which included: 5-gallon buckets with reusable lids, scouring pads, sponges, cleaning wipes, liquid laundry detergent, household cleaner, disinfectant dish soap, clothes pins, clothes lines, dust masks, heavy-duty reusable latex gloves, leather palm work gloves, 24-bag rolls of heavy-duty trash bags or 33-45 gallon size bags, air freshener and insect repellent spray.

Stocks said giving the students the opportunity to help flood victims in a tangible way allowed them to put someone else before themselves.

“It also opens the door to conversations about helping others, and why we should all do our part,” Stocks said. “Our students are young and can’t go to the store to purchase these items, but they can learn from their parents’ example and will hopefully instill a sense of compassion in our students. We have a very compassionate community, and I am proud of what we are able to give.”

Donations were accepted at the school through Sept. 15, and Middle Schoolers Unite of Birmingham was coordinating the efforts as well as packing and preparing the buckets to be picked up on Sept. 16.

For more information about Mission to North America, visit PCAMNA.org.