Here’s how you can honor the memory of the Hilton Head woman who died in gator attack
South Carolinians can help honor the memory of a beloved New York teacher who’d recently moved to Hilton Head Island and who, before her tragic death, was scheduled to begin her 17th year with the Union-Endicott Central School District.
Cassandra Cline died Aug. 20 off Governors Lane in Sea Pines when she was was killed by an alligator that targeted her dog.
She managed to save the pet, which escaped unharmed, S.C. Department of Natural Resources officials told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette last week.
Cline was a veteran kindergarten teacher and, according to the Binghamton (N.Y.) Press & Sun-Bulletin, bought school supplies for her students each year — a tradition her family and friends want to continue.
Her loved ones have organized a school-supply drive that is up and running through Sept. 8, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
While residents of Binghamton and the surrounding area can drop off supplies there, South Carolinians and others from outside the community can mail supplies to either of the following businesses, which are collecting donations, according to Linda Myers, the district’s spokesperson: Hair Studio Six, 800 Hooper Road; Endwell, NY 13760 or Southern Tier Dermatology, 333 Hooper Road, Endwell, NY 13760.
The requested supplies are: crayons, markers, colored pencils, No. 2 pencils, plastic folders, wide-ruled, loose-leaf paper, construction paper, glue sticks, backpacks and tissues.
Additionally, people can make donations in Cline’s name to the district’s scholarship fund (which her family has requested in lieu of flowers) at the following address, according to Myers: Scholarship Opportunities for U-E Tigers, P.O. Box 7111, Endicott, NY 13761-7111.
Cline will be remembered at a celebration of life event from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Barber Memorial Home at 428 Main St. in Johnson City, New York, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
During her 16 years of teaching, Cline touched the lives of more than 400 students and their families, district superintendent Dr. Suzanne McLeod told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette last week.
McLeod said Cline was awarded the local Parent Teachers Association’s Founders Award last year for her service at George F. Johnson Elementary School in Endicott.
“(Cline) was the total package,” McLeod told the newspapers last week.
This story was originally published August 27, 2018 at 1:45 PM.