'Toy Like Me' gifts donated to kids at Carilion Clinic

ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - Pediatric patients at Carilion Clinic received heart-warming Christmas surprises.

Gifts modified by Roanoke College students during the Toys Like Me project were delivered on Friday.

Students added casts and cochlear implants to toys so they would be more like the young patients who are receiving them.

The idea to alter the toys came during a May-term course called "differ abilities."

"The idea is to modify the toys to reflect the disabilities that children have," said Frances Bosch, a biology department lecturer at the college. "I used to work with kids with disabilities and they don't smile often enough. Their parents really want to see them smile more and maybe this will make them smile, to understand that they are accepted by society."

Children in the Roanoke Valley Regional Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Virginia Heights will also benefit from the toy drive.