The Georgia Southern chapter of an international honor society for counseling professionals and students, Chi Sigma Iota, is gathering donations to create calming kits for local middle school students.

These calming kits consist of stress coping strategies and materials to help Bulloch County middle school students when they meet with their counselors.

Brittany Pieke, chapter treasurer and graduate student, explained in the Newsroom Press Release that, “While we wish we could provide for all the schools in Bulloch County, we decided to focus our current efforts on the four middle schools because those working in middle schools have noticed dramatic differences in mental health of students this year.”

Each kit can be assembled for $10 which would consist of items such as headphones, fidget spinners, stress balls, and, to account for the water fountains being turned off as a safety precaution, reusable water bottles.

This program is accepting donations through cash, check, and Venmo donations until March 10. Venmo donations can be made through @kaylafitz, and checks can be made out to Chi Sigma Iota and mailed to Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8032, Statesboro, Georgia, 30460, ATTN: Chi Sigma Iota.

You can contact the chapter’s faculty advisor, Kristen Dickens, Ph.D., assistant professor of counselor education through her email: kdickens@georgiasouthern.edu.