Buncee Hugs for Heroes by Amy Storer, Kristina A. Holzweiss & Barbie Monty

Throughout this crisis, our first responders and essential workers have been the “heroes of humanity.” They are doing their part by continuing to care for others and provide essential services to the rest of the community. To celebrate and show appreciation to these heroes for their hard work and bravery, our Buncee Ambassadors, Amy Storer, Kristina A. Holzweiss, and Barbie Monty, created the “Hugs for Heroes” project.

Months ago, none of us could have imagined how our lives would be changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus across the world, we have all been advised to do our part by practicing social distancing. More and more, families and friends are encouraged to stay home, and instead, connect virtually. This new way of communicating made us think that we can use this same capability to share our deepest admiration and appreciation for all of the people on the front line.

Although you can’t offer a physical hug to these heroes, you can certainly create and share a virtual hug with Buncee! Create a Buncee card thanking our heroes and showing them how much you appreciate their hard work. You can personalize your Buncee card with fun graphics or even a personalized audio message expressing your appreciation. Once you’ve finished your Buncee, you can share it to the official Hugs for Heroes Buncee Board. This way, all the cards can be collected in one place, and the Board can be shared to our heroes.

Learn how you can get involved and spread some positivity below:

How to get involved in Hugs for Heroes from Buncee:

Create your own Buncee for the Hugs for Heroes Buncee project.
Perhaps, print out your Buncee and hang it in your window to show your support.
Add your Buncee to the official Hugs for Heroes Buncee Board.
Share the link on social media and through email to your local hospitals, fire departments, and police departments.

This is a great way that we can come together through the power of technology, and show these heroes our gratitude. During this time, it’s important to remember that although we’re not physically with each other, we are all in this together!

About the Initiators of Hugs for Heroes

Kristina A. Holzweiss

Kristina A. Holzweiss, MLIS, is an ed tech specialist librarian a Syosset High School in Syosset, New York. She earned her bachelor’s in English from Adelphi University, her master’s in English from Queens College, her certification in educational technology from SUNY Stony Brook, and her master’s in library science from Palmer Graduate Library School, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Kristina is the co-author of Hacking School Libraries, and the author of a series of Scholastic makerspace books. She was named the Scholastic/School Library Journal Librarian of the Year in 2015, a National School Board 2016 – 2017 “20 to Watch” emerging education technology leader, and a 2018 Library Journal Mover & Shaker. Kristina is a founding member of the Nation of Makers. In 2015 she founded SLIME – Students of Long Island Maker Expo (http://slimemakerexpo.com) where schools, libraries, museums, nonprofit organizations, civic associations, and educational companies can celebrate creativity and innovation. Kristina is a keynote presenter who blogs at http://bunheadwithducttape.com and tweets from @lieberrian.

Amy Storer

Amy is a graduate of Lamar University with a Master’s in Educational Technology Leadership. She truly loves being an instructional coach and the lead technology integration mentor for Montgomery ISD. This year is her 4th year as a campus coach, and she loves calling Keenan Elementary her home. She has taught grades 1-4, and thinks of those students often. She holds two Teacher of the Year distinctions and, in 2015, she was a top 4 finalist in HEB’s Excellence in Education in the “Leadership Elementary” category. She is an educator that encourages and motivates others to reach far beyond the classroom walls to make the learning more meaningful and inspiring. She has a true passion for working with other educators and students to encourage them to make and foster global connections.

Her and her husband have been together for over 20 years, and their favorite people call them Mamie and Uncle TT.

Follow her on Twitter @techamys, and her blog: https://converseintheclassroom.blogspot.com/

Barbie Monty

Barbie received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education (Cum Laude) from Mississippi University for Women. Upon moving to Tampa Bay and marrying in 2000, Barbie came to Carrollwood Day School. She was drawn to CDS after learning of its character education initiative. She quickly became an active member of the CDS faculty taking a position in the fifth grade. She assumed the role of advisor to the fifth grade School Store where her responsibilities include scheduling students and parents, ordering merchandise, and monitoring its weekly operation which gives students hands-on experience preparing them for their unit focusing on business and economics. She eagerly accepted the role of Inservice Coordinator for the faculty of the ECC, the elementary, and middle school division and excitedly added the high school division upon its inception.

Barbie became the advisor to the fifth-grade Safety Patrol and is responsible for training, scheduling, and monitoring the patrol on a daily basis providing fifth graders with an incredible opportunity to experience leadership roles before beginning their middle school journey. Barbie loves working with the CDS fifth grade students and has been instrumental in developing many of the Units of Inquiry they currently enjoy each year. Follow Barbie’s class on Twitter!