Staff and students collected art supplies and stuffed animals to donate to the Sandy Hook Elementary School to help its students begin the recovery process after last Friday’s tragedy.

The art supplies were collected as part of the Drawn Together Drive started by blogger Amber at Damask Love.  According to the blog, “Research in the fields of social work and psychology offer significant evidence that art can be a valuable therapeutic tool for children as they work through grief and trauma. Children’s drawings can help them tell their story to adults. Art may offer a healthy coping mechanism for children experiencing difficult emotions. Art can also provide a helpful activity for parents to spend quality time with their children, which is undoubtedly something every parent in Newtown needs right now.”

Operation Snuggle, according to The Lymes Patch, Ad Manager Lindsay Braun , she sent an email to her colleagues, telling them that she would “be collecting stuffed animals for the children of Newtown over the next week” and that she “want[ed] these children to have something to comfort them, and something to hug in the coming weeks as this all unfolds.”

If you would like to contribute your effort to help the Newtown community, here are some other local organizations who are doing so:

• The West Side Middle School Student Council in Groton will be collecting donations to benefit the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, which has been established at Newtown Savings Bank in Newtown. Monetary donations will be accepted via mail at West Side Middle School, 250 Brandegee Ave., Groton, CT 06340. Donations can also be dropped off at the City of Groton Mayor’s Office, at 295 Meridian St.
• Anyone who wishes to donate directly to the bank may send donations to Sandy Hook School Support Fund, c/o Newtown Savings Bank, 39 Main St., Newtown, CT 06470.
• Old Lyme Emergency Medical Services will host a “Fill the Boot” drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to raise money for the victims of the Newtown tragedy. The drive will be held near the Big Y supermarket on Halls Road.
• Monte Cristo Bookshop, at 13 Washington St., New London, is a drop-off location for Books for Sandy Hook. New books, teddy bears and toys for children are being collected. The bookstore is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Gov. Daniel P. Malloy has declared a statewide vigil for Sunday at 6PM. Locally, at least three vigils are scheduled:

• A community vigil, hosted by the Stonington Community Center, is scheduled at Owens Field. The vigil will include words of encouragement, prayer and song, according to a release by the COMO.
• A vigil at the McCook Point Park Pavilion in East Lyme will also include an opportunity to donate to Newtown victims and survivors.
• An interdenominational vigil is scheduled at the Waterford High School auditorium, at 20 Rope Ferry Road in Waterford.