VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - “Thank you for keeping our city safe."
Those are some of the words of encouragement and gratitude found on a simple, handmade card.
“Inside, it says, 'Thank you and God bless.'"
News 3 anchor Beverly Kidd presents Laura Nuckols with a People Taking Action award
Words of love, compassion and kindness for first responders and hospital staff who responded to the mass shooting in Virginia Beach were sent on beautifully handmade cards from fourth graders at King's Grant Elementary School. The idea for the project came from their teacher, Mrs. Laura Nuckols.
“I was just searching on Twitter, looking for meaning and I saw the hashtag #vbkind, and I think, 'There’s a way where my class can help contribute to this.'"
Principal Dr. Lorena Kelly has high praise for this veteran teacher.
“In her classroom on her wall she has a saying - “You matter”- and she makes sure that every kid in her class knows that they matter - and how better to show that than giving them the opportunity to give back to our community?"
And for that, we have something for this beloved teacher.
We caught up with her on the last full day of class before summer recess. The class, which was in the middle of an end-of-school-year party, was loud with excitement and laughter.
It was a perfect day for a celebration because we surprised Mrs. Nuckols with a People Taking Action award and a $300 gift card from our community partner, Southern Bank.
Leslie Logan Sadler is a parent whose son is a student in her class.
“I really like seeing how she’s reaching out and doing acts of kindness and compassion. And that’s not easily taught, but the kids seem to have embraced it and it's been really great.”
“We were making pictures and writing nice things to doctors and police and everyone that helped," says student Wyatt Grant.
Student Christopher Gueye has a keen understanding of why they took on the project.
“It represents the people who sacrificed their lives to save ours," he said.
As does Sophia, another one of Mrs. Nuckols' star students.
“We made a bunch of cards for everyone, and it just started out like a small, little one-day thing and then it just went into this big thing that everyone knows about.”
Proof that doing one good little thing can grow into a massive wave of goodness for the whole community to see.
Do you know someone who's worthy of a People Taking Action award? Click here to nominate them!
