Neosho students deliver toys to sick Freeman pediatric patients

JOPLIN, Mo. – Dozens of pillowcases stuffed with toys were dropped off by 44 first-grade students from Neosho’s RISE Elementary school Wednesday morning.

This is the second year in a row the students have traveled by school bus to Freeman West Hospital to hand-deliver the goodies in what RISE school Teacher Kacie Barratt calls the “Pillowcase Project.”

This also marks the seventh year RISE elementary school students or staff members have delivered toy-stuffed pillowcases to Freeman officials.

For those unfamiliar with the school’s charitable act, in years past, Barratt’s and Ashleyanne Cantwell’s first-grade students would lovingly place donated toys and items inside large pillowcases for the boys and girls staying at Freeman. The idea was to turn a scary and stressful experience for the young patients into something positive and happy, particularly for those spending Christmas inside a hospital room.

But this year, Barratt said, they upped the project to a whole new level. The two teachers wanted their students to physically learn how to sew each pillowcase together. For that to happen, they would first need to raise money to purchase the pillowcase fabric.

“During the brainstorming process the kids mentioned a concert, Christmas carols, dancing and instruments,” Barratt said. “We had been learning about light and sound in science. One idea led to another, and the students came up with a glow-in-the-dark Christmas carol concert. We called it “Let’s GLOW Caroling.”

The students tackled all aspects of putting on a performance concert – from speaking and singing on stage to playing instruments to painting glow-in-the-dark backdrops to running the overhead lights to operating a box office and concession stand. Tickets were $3. The concert took place on Dec. 4, with the students performing five songs.

“It was such an amazing event,” Barratt said. “We were able to raise about $1,150 dollars to purchase our fabric. We raised so much money that we didn’t need to ask for parent donations of toys and other items and we were able to purchase those items on our own with that money.”

Roughly a week later, all 44 children partnered with Neosho High School students to sew together their pillowcases.

“This year, our pillowcases are truly made and filled with love. “A lot of hard work by the students has gone into this event, making it even more special than it has been in years past,” Barratt said. “I chose to use pillowcases so that the boys and girls could have something to keep with them forever. Maybe when they remember their time in the hospital, they remember something happy rather than something scary and sad.”

Each pillowcase is filled with 14 items, including stickers, a coloring book, a pair of comfy socks, a stuffed animal and a fidget toy. The pillowcases are tied shut with ribbon and an attached hand-written poem by each student.

Kalseji Reeves and Bethany McGinnis, director and assistant director of Freeman’s maternal-neonatal services respectively, accepted the pillowcases from each student, often speaking to them or giving them a high-five.

“It’s just so special,” Reeves said. “It means the world for one kid to realize they’re doing something so impactful for another kid who is sick and hurting in the hospital.”