Everyone at school has, at some time or another, seen the massive pile of teddy bears stuffed into the display case at the end of the main hallway. It’s an interesting little tidbit, that has now disappeared from the school. The display case lies empty, and the stuffed animals are gone. Yet how and why were they there, and why have they gone?

The first question is easy to answer. The Oakton branch of DECA, an international marketing club, which competes at the state and local level, began the drive in order to compete in DECA’s community service program. The program itself is simple: you pick a project and do it, and analyze it, discussing what went right and wrong. Spearheaded by Natasha Birch and Britney June, the DECA members promoted the drive and gathered many of the excess stuffed animals that many Oakton students have lying around their homes, and brought them to the school.

At that point, the drive moved into a different stage. The stuffed animals sat at Oakton for several months, before DECA advisers were contacted by another party. Jacob Rutzick collected the stuffed animals from the school, and, along with stuffed animals that he himself had collected, brought and donated the teddy bears to the Fairfax County Police Department. These stuffed animals will be distributed around the county and be given to children who have been involved in traumatic events such as car accidents, fires, and crimes.