Stay strong.
You're not alone.
Hamilton County kids care.
These are just a few of the phrases Ooltewah Middle School students wrote on the canned goods they donated for a recent food drive organized by the school's Beta Club.
"When [word of the messages] started to get out, people started to drop by my room because they wanted to write messages," said school counselor and Beta Club sponsor Jamie Stephens.
She said she does not know who started writing the messages or why - only that those messages have sparked a movement at the school, with anonymous notes of encouragement and kindness popping up for others to find.
After the food drive, notes started appearing on random lockers throughout the school. Stephens said the movement even has a hashtag: #sharekindnessOMS.
The students used the popularity of the notes to help promote the drive on social media, which they can partially credit for its success. The students collected 6,000 pounds of food - the equivalent of 24,000 meals - for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, she said.
"It was neat because all types of families were giving," said Stephens, explaining that OMS is a Title 1 school, meaning it receives supplemental funds from the federal government due to its concentration of low-income students. "Not all our families are well-to-do."
Sometimes it takes someone who's been there to offer hope to someone in need. As one note on a student's locker read, "Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's impossible."
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.