VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Children of Change is a segment that features local kids doing great things that impact our community. Well, the students of Saint Gregory the Great Catholic School in Virginia Beach certainly deserve the title. They learned of a need in our community and now, thanks to them, families dealing with tragedy will be able to hold on to some comfort.
It all started with a tragic end. A local family lost their 14-year-old child when she died suddenly. She passed away in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at CHKD in Norfolk. The 14-year-old gave the gift of life as she was an organ donor. So, in a way, she lives on in others.
For her family, she lives on in another way. Sonographers at CHKD recorded the child’s heartbeat before she passed and they placed the recording inside a teddy bear, a heartbeat bear. Any time a family member hugs the bear, they hear her heartbeat.
“It’s something that they can look back on and remember and think of fondly,” said Sarah Wilt, a CHKD sonographer.
“We are part of these families lives every day and if we can at least give them something at the end of the day, it’s worth it,” said Stacy Touchberry, also a CHKD sonographer.
The students of St. Gregory the Great Catholic School in Virginia Beach learned of the Heartbeat Bears Initiative. The school’s National Junior Honor Society made it its mission to raise money for the program. So, they created a dress down week during Catholic Schools Week. They set a goal to raise $1,200.
“It was one dollar a day, but many people brought in $10, $20. We had a couple bring in $50. I think we had $100 once, I believe so. We had some generous donations,” said SGGCS 8th graders Keira Lozada and Kathleen Vergara.
Well guess what? The school blew away its initial goal and ended up raising $2,000!
“It’s because of the hard work of these amazing students that we are going to be able to do something that’s going to stay with these families for the rest of their lives,” said Mary Katherine Tate, staff chaplain at CHKD’s PICU.
Tate says the Heartbeat Bear Initiative was usually only done in the NICU, for the families of the youngest patients at CHKD.
“But we wanted to be able to honor all the patients that we lose, older patients, and younger patients. Sometimes it’s sudden death. Other times they even end when it’s anticipated. Regardless of the situation, it’s a huge gift that we’re able to give to the families.”
A gift that allows their child to live on in a different way.
“For parents, often their worst fear is that people are going to forget the children,” said Tate.
The students of Saint Gregory the Great refuse to let that happen. Thanks to their donation, the Heartbeat Bears Initiative will be able to continue for at least two more years. Music to the ears of PICU nurse Anna Grayson Evans.
“It’s going to be awesome just to help these families who have gone through tragedy and just start the grieving process.”
If you know of a child, or children, doing great things in your community, reach out to Katie Collett via email or through her social media: Twitter/Facebook/Instagram. She would love to feature them in an upcoming Children of Change segment.
