Following the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Cherry Creek has discovered  a way to directly support its victims, specifically other students.

Activities Director Krista Keogh registered the school to “adopt a classroom” of students directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey through sending them various school supplies.

“Pretty soon after the hurricanes in Houston, there were a lot of people in the school asking what we could do to help, and I was actually on Facebook one day and had seen this ‘Adopt a Classroom,’” Keogh said.

A week after registering, Creek was paired with a science class of 175 students from Davis Ninth Grade High School. Because of the hurricanes, these students’ supplies were ruined, and with the supplies at local stores being diminished, they were desperately in need. The teacher, Lisa Griffiths, sent Keogh a list of supplies she knew her students would need to be successful for the school year.

“She had requested quite a few supplies for all 175 of her kids: composition notebooks, colored pencils, glue, tape, backpacks,” she said.

Keogh is also accepting cash donations to cover shipping costs and just to buy more supplies.

Different clubs and groups assisted in the collecting of donations such as DECA.

“We donated over $100, tape, glue, colored paper, composition notebooks, and folders,” DECA Advisor Beth Adolphi said. “I would say more than 40 members participated.”

The National Art Honor Society also contributed by donating the 172 erasers requested by the Houston class.

“Our club is a service organization, but sometimes, service opportunities that are able to be directly impacted with art are more scarce,” NAHS Sponsor Alissandra Seelaus said. “So this seemed like a meaningful way to contribute an art supply that someone else needed.”

Students hesitant to donate may be concerned about the security of their donations and if they are truly going where they are needed, but Keogh can confirm the legitimacy of the charity.

“I’m personally in contact with the teacher,” she said. “She knows specifically what we send and what she should be receiving.”

Keogh is also keeping a very close inventory of everything being sent to ensure nothing is missed.

“Whenever there’s a tragedy like a hurricane, the supply in that area is limited. You can’t just go to Target and buy new school supplies because everybody needed new school supplies, so I think being able to send some things from up here down there was really helpful.”