Kansas City area teen donates hundreds of toys to the children of Uvalde
By Alan Shope
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LOUISBURG, Kansas (KMBC) — Uvalde, Texas, was devastated by a mass shooting in 2022 that saw 21 people, most of whom were children, killed at Robb Elementary School.
A Louisburg teen saw coverage of the shooting on the news and wanted to do something to help.
Those efforts are finally coming to fruition for 17-year-old Sammie Magee after she spent months collecting toys to donate to the community.
“These are just little kids that have gone through something absolutely unimaginable,” Magee said.
This past weekend, she took those toys to the small Texas town.
“These little kids, probably like five years old, coming up to me, saying thank you as they’re holding a stuffed animal that was donated,” Magee said.
Sammie got with a local library and set up a room for families in the town to just walk in and pick out a toy.
“I wanted them to know that they had that love and support from someone even in Kansas City,” Magee said.
While in Texas, the teen visited memorials and met families affected by the school shooting.
“It really puts into perspective the innocence of the school, but the tragedy that happened that day,” Magee said.
As the 17-year-old was setting up the toy drive, a group in town gave her an award. Magee donated 13 boxes full of toys to the community.
“I just want people to know that after being around these families, even though it’s been a year, and after the world has moved on after we moved on — that these families still need love. They still need help,” Magee said. “The trauma has not gone away,”
The teen says she hopes to organize toy drives to help other communities in the future.
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