Kittatinny students help Iraqi children

Newton — Kittatinny Regional High School students are trying to transform Iraq, one teddy bear at a time. In November, students gathered more than 100 stuffed critters to send to children in the war-torn country. Physical education teacher Mark Schulte and media specialist Janet Goodwin, advisor to high school student council, initiated the collection. “I was hoping for 30 to 40 bears. When we got more than 100, I was elated,” Schulte remarked. Schulte decided to ask the school to sponsor the project when his wife’s colleague was looking for teddy bears to send to her son, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Carmine Androsiglio. He wanted the stuffed animals to give to hospitalized Iraqi children. Androsiglio distributes the toys to children when he volunteers at hospitals during his off-duty hours, according to Schulte. The animals also help field medics identify children who have been discharged from hospitals and might need follow-up care, he added. Three hefty boxes weighing about 19 pounds each were shipped out Nov. 17, with shipping hosts paid by Kittatinny’s faculty. Schulte hopes the boxes will arrive in about a week.