Students of Joanna Vincenzo’s cross categorical class at Bridgeport Exempted Village School District donate more than 100 Squishmallows to UPMC Children’s Hospital in memory of eight-year-old Monroe DeLuca of Cadiz, who passed away in September after battling a brain tumor. Katie Kendall, from left, of Kendall Behavioral Solutions arrives to collect the Squishmallows. Photo Provided

BRIDGEPORT — Students and staff at Bridgeport Exempted Village School District did their part to help honor a little girl’s memory by spreading kindness to other young children going through a difficult time.

On Oct. 30, students of Joanna Vincenzo’s cross categorical class donated more than 100 Squishmallows to UPMC Children’s Hospital in memory of eight-year-old Monroe DeLuca of Cadiz, who passed away in September after battling a brain tumor.

Katie Kendall of Kendall Behavioral Solutions arrived to accept the Squishmallows, which are sensory toys that often provide comfort for children.

Kendall thanked the Bulldogs for helping carry on Monroe’s mission.

“While she was going through treatment, she had collected a bunch of Squishmallows and started to give them away to other kids who had brain tumors,” Kendall said. Friends of the family decided to carry on and donate the Squishmallows to UPMC Children’s Hospital. “So every child could have a warm hug and something to squeeze while they’re going through a hard time.”

Kendall knew she could rely on the help of community partners, including Bridgeport Schools Special Education Director Beverly Prati.

“We reached out to our friends at Bridgeport, and Beverly got right on it and helped us here at the school, drove that initiative.”

Kendall said she expects the drive has collected more than 400 Squishmallows in total. The goal at Bridgeport Schools was to collect 50, but the Bulldogs did not quit while they were ahead and quickly shot past that goal and doubled it.

Prati said they were happy to help. She added the school district has a close relationship with Monroe DeLuca’s family. Her mother, Amanda DeLuca, is board president of the More Than Project which aids children with special needs and their caregivers. In 2022 the More Than Project awarded Bridgeport Schools $5,000 in sensory equipment for students with special needs in Vincenzo’s classroom. Prati said students and staff were eager to help with the donation drive.

“We had been following her story,” Prati said. “I thought: We need to do something here at Bridgeport to honor her memory. Her mom had such an impact on our little corner of the world at our high school cross-categorical classroom with that sensory corner, so we wanted to give back.”

Prati said the district also has a close relationship with Kendall Behavioral Solutions and joined their effort. Collection began Oct. 20.

“We were only going to collect them for a week, and we had such a good response that we extended it a couple more days,” she said. “Our staff at the classroom worked with their connections and a lot of the community members.”

She noted this was an example of the culture of service fostered by the Bulldogs.

“It’s another way for us to give back to the community, and I think it’s important for our kids to realize how fortunate they are, and when they have the ability to give back, what that looks like and how that makes you feel.”

Vincenzo said she was proud of her students for leading the drive.

“We talked with the class about why we were doing it. We talked about how we’re very fortunate here at school. We get to show up at school every day and be with our friends and get to learn, and we talked about kids who were unable to be at school and be with their friends and learning because of their difficult situations. So we focused on that empathy, and the kids really resonated with that. They wanted to be able to give back to these kids.”

Junior Jonathan Hall said he and his classmates wanted to help children who were going through a difficult time. They used some creativity in getting word out.

“We made a flyer and we put it on the school app. Some and the teachers took it to some of the businesses they knew,” he said. “I was surprised we got to the goal.”

He said they were excited to collect and count the Squishmallows and see how many they had gathered.

“We did a great job as a group, plus the teachers also helped spreading the word and making sure everyone knew about the collection and why we were collecting them.”

Eighth grader Evin said they wanted to give a source of comfort to children who might not be able to spend time with their families while they are in the hospital.

“Where they’re going is a really good cause,” he said. “It’s really nice that the school is giving this to them free.”