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Front row: Bradley Weeks, Emma Darbe, Kaylen Harris. Second Row: Aree Ingram, John Castillo, Jaxton Rice, Ashton Pollard, Rosie Garcia, Shawn Butts, Jack Rambo, Colt Hudson, Greenlee Waddell, Adelyn Stevenson, Kim Hinkle, Third Row: LaDonna McCune, Ayden Morgan, Farris Chitwood, Calliope Boyster, McKenzie Blevins, Zoey Boda, Sawyer Dunwoody, Harper Valentin, Journee Morris, Avery Baker. -
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Mrs. Hinkle’s fourth graders at Fogarty worked hard this week assembling 189 “Amber McCune Blessing Bags” for the homeless and needy in memory of the mother of one of Ms. Hinkle’s students. Items such as water, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, and socks were put into gallon sandwich bags to be distributed later this month by the UCO Tomorrow’s Counselors of America Club (TADCA).
Amber McCune, the woman who the blessing bags are named for, passed away from cancer in 2016. She was 37 years old. She is described as a “people person” with friends from “all walks of life,” who had a passion for supporting the homeless and needy. When she was driving back and forth for her chemotherapy she saw people standing on the road asking for help. It was then that she started handing out her “Blessing Bags” containing Bible verses, hygiene items, quarters, snacks, and water.
McCune was honored by KFOR Channel 4’s Pay it Forward in May, 2016. She gave every penny of the $400 she received back in Blessing Bags. Before her death, she was only able to give out 27 of the hundreds of bags she had prepared. Since then, her family, her friends, and UCO students distributed 816 “Amber McCune Blessing Bags” with a goal of reaching 1,000 bags.
The TADCA is a student organization affiliated with the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). Under the leadership of their advisors, Dr. LaDonna McCune and Brooke Montoya, they work to educate the campus and surrounding community about substance abuse and addiction. TADCA President Kerstin Pfaff-Lewis, Vice President LeeAnn Cooper, Secretary Harrison Hall, Co-Public Relations Officers Sarah Shearer and Tammy Bradbury, and former Public Relations Officer Morgan Cruz organized this community service project to aid the homeless by continuing the work that Amber McCune started.
This charity has been ongoing since 2016, distributing Amber McCune Blessing Bags to residents throughout Oklahoma, including Guthrie and Oklahoma City, and as far away as Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and even Thailand. The project has been assisted by Cornerstone Family Dentistry in Stillwater, Professor LaDonna McCune’s Addictions Counseling and Substance Abuse Studies classes at UCO, and the Epsilon Omega Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority in Oklahoma City.
Numerous individual contributors have donated items, and many young people have driven with Dr. McCune to downtown Oklahoma City to distribute blessing bags, including her granddaughter, Amber McCune’s daughter, Harper Valentin.
10-year old Harper is in Mrs. Hinkle’s class this year, and she said she believes her mother would be very proud of them for continuing the work she was so passionate about.
“Be thankful for all you have, because there are some people that are doing worse than you,” said Harper - evidence that her mother’s legacy is in good hands.