MATTHEWS, N.C. — A special Toys for Tots collection in Matthews was created for people to give back after tragedy took a young woman who continues to change lives.
Ella Lukse was loved by her friends and her friend’s parents. The girl they call loving, caring, and always smiling was killed in a car accident in September 2023.
After mourning the loss of her son’s good friend, Teri Chicoli organized a Toys for Tots drive in Ella’s memory.
“When we thought about putting this together, we took how Ella was as a person, a giver, giver, giver, and how can we also give,” she told Channel 9’s Scott Wickersham.
Ella’s sister Gia said a collection of toys for kids made sense.
“I think it shows how good she was with kids,” she said. “My sister loved kids. We would go to swim practice, and she would hang out with all the kids.”
Ella even saved a child’s life in her death. Her father said she was an organ donor. She gave several organs, including her heart, which went to a young girl who would die without it.
“She’s part of someone else now, and maybe they can be like her in giving back to people,” her friend Jack Chicoli said.
Saturday marks the third Toys for Tots collection at Providence High School in honor of Ella.
“It’s teaching the next generation it’s not about you, it’s about someone else,” Teri Chicoli said. “And that’s how Ella was. She was always about other people.”
It’s a day to remember Ella by caring for the children she loved, and those who loved her say they would love to see a big turnout there.
The collection is at the Providence High School parking lot Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They’re collecting unwrapped toys, as well as canned goods and gently used coats.
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