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Hearts in Action: Grimes School community comes together to support teacher after apartment fire

A young boy and an adult woman smile at the camera, holding crafts and papers, with a classroom setting visible in the background.
Hearts in Action: Grimes School community comes together to support teacher after apartment fire

One Team. One Heart. One Movement. 

The Grimes School community recently united in an extraordinary show of compassion and support for beloved sixth-grade teacher Dana Johnson, who experienced a devastating apartment fire in Yonkers on April 28, 2026. In an instant, Ms. Johnson lost the place she called home along with many of her personal belongings and essentials. 

In response, the Grimes Sunshine Committee, led by Mrs. Joycelyn Alfreda Rios, organized Hearts in Action: The Grimes Movement, a heartfelt schoolwide initiative centered on unity, kindness, and community support. 

The movement consisted of several meaningful parts: 

Fundraising Efforts 

Faculty and staff at Grimes School came together to support Ms. Johnson through generous donations, raising a total of $1,606 to assist her during this difficult time. 

Hearts in Action Spirit Week 

From May 11–15, 2026, students and staff participated in a vibrant Spirit Week designed to spread positivity and school unity. Daily themes included: 

  • Monday: Ignite the Movement  
  • Tuesday: Denim in Motion  
  • Wednesday: Wear the Movement — students wore Grimes School colors of blue, white, and Kelly green  
  • Thursday: Threads of Hope  
  • Friday: Soulful Support — students proudly wore their favorite sneakers  

Throughout the week, students showcased their colorful attire while school spirit photographs captured the excitement and joy across the building. 

Unity Rally 

On Tuesday, May 19, Grimes School hosted a special Unity Rally in the cafeteria. Ten selected classes participated in heartfelt activities designed to uplift Ms. Johnson. Students created personalized “Dear Ms. Johnson” cards featuring beautifully colored butterflies and roses on the covers and thoughtful handwritten messages inside. 

Students also selected inspirational quotes, attached them to balloons, and placed the balloons along the schoolyard fence as a visible symbol of hope, encouragement, and solidarity. 

During the rally, Rios Entertainment Services provided uplifting music that created a joyful and supportive atmosphere for students and staff throughout the activities. Mrs. Rios also delivered an inspiring speech encouraging students to embrace kindness, healing, and community support. 

“Students, healing does not only happen through words,” said Mrs. Rios. “Healing also happens through kindness. It happens when people help one another. It happens when a community stands together and says, ‘You are not alone.’ Every single one of you has the power to help someone heal.”

At the conclusion of the event, all cards and collected funds were presented to Ms. Johnson in a beautiful basket filled with love and encouragement from the Grimes community. 

Hearts in Action: The Grimes Movement was a powerful reminder that when a school community comes together with compassion and unity, hope shines brighter than hardship. 

A young boy in the foreground holds up a handwritten letter, while blurred figures and a pink-clad woman are visible in the background.
A smiling girl in a pink shirt holds up a handwritten note in the foreground, while other children and adults are visible in the blurred background of a classroom or cafeteria.
Two young friends smile and make peace signs in the foreground, with a blurred classroom background behind them.
Two young girls in the foreground proudly display colorful, hand-drawn flower crafts, while in the background, other children and adults are engaged in an art activity.
A woman with glasses smiles as she poses with a young girl holding a butterfly craft in the foreground, while other children and adults are visible in the background of a brightly lit room.
In the foreground, children proudly display their colorful flower and butterfly crafts, while in the background, a group of children are engaged in an art activity at tables in a brightly lit room.
White and blue balloons are tied to a chain-link fence in the foreground, with colorful houses and trees visible in the background.
Children in the foreground are focused on drawing and coloring at a table, while in the background, other children and an adult are also engaged in activities.
An orange traffic cone stands on a paved surface in the foreground, while a chain-link fence adorned with blue and white balloons separates the viewer from houses and parked cars in the background.
Two smiling boys in the foreground hold white balloons decorated with colorful drawings, while other children and a red wall are visible in the background.
Two young girls are coloring a butterfly on a paper at a table with crayons and a balloon in the foreground, while other children are visible in the blurred background.
Three children in the foreground proudly display their colorful flower drawings, while a blurred background shows other children and adults in a classroom setting.
A woman in a blue shirt and headscarf smiles while holding string, while a young girl in a black shirt grins and holds up a handwritten letter in front of a classroom with orange walls and a yellow mop bucket.
Young children in the foreground are coloring butterfly and flower crafts at a table, while blurred figures of adults and children are visible in the background.
A woman in a white dress holds a tablet and speaks into a microphone in the foreground, while children and another woman in a blue shirt sit at tables in the background.
White and blue balloons are tied to a chain-link fence in the foreground, with houses and trees visible in the background.

 

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