When 9-year-old Jenna Eldred learned of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, she had an idea of how to comfort the children. Teddy bears would make them "smile and be happy," she told her mother, Bobbi-Leigh Eldred.
Soon, the "Jenna's Teddy Bears of Love" campaign started.
Jenna, a Prompton resident and third-grader at R.D. Wilson Elementary School, Western Wayne School District, is collecting donations to buy a bear for each of Sandy Hook's 600 students.
"I think that the teddy bears will make them happy, because they're really soft and cuddly," she said Tuesday.
When Jenna and her brother, Justin, 7, arrived home from school Friday, their mother gently explained what happened at Sandy Hook.
Minutes later, Jenna came to her mom with the idea.
"When she came out with this, I was just amazed," Ms. Eldred said. "It made me cry hysterically. I was just so proud of her."
In early February, Jenna plans to go to Newtown, Conn., with family and friends to deliver the bears.
"We don't have the money to buy all of the bears," Jenna said. "We need help." Donations may be made until Jan. 25 at any Pennstar Bank or mailed to:
Jenna's Teddy Bears of Love, c/o Pennstar Bank, 1230 O'Neill Highway, Dunmore, PA 18512.
ONLINE www.facebook.com/ jennasteddybearsoflove
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter