High school sends bears to Cornerstone

RHS senior Laura Skoly helps get the 99 bears ready for their trip from the Rockville High School office to the Cornerstone shelter on Dec. 7. Photos by Steve Smith.

The teachers at Rockville High School recently held their 12th annual drive to collect stuffed bears for children at the Cornerstone Foundation's annual Christmas party.

On Dec. 7, 99 bears were packed into bags and ferried to the shelter after spending up to a week in the RHS office. This makes the total number of bears collected over the years more than 2,000.

The office staff said a stuffed duck also has been infiltrating the bears' territory. He even made it as far as one of the large bags that the seniors in the National Honor Society had filled for transport, but a staffer noticed the stowaway and returned him to the office, where he will likely resurface next year and attempt another “getaway.”

As in years past, some of the bears were purchased by staff from a program benefiting St. Jude's Research Hospital, making them a “double-gift.”

The bear drive coincided with the National Honor Society's toy drive – also benefiting Cornerstone.

For more information, visit www.cornerstone-rockville.org.