Louisburg 19-year-old uses toy drive to help Missourians impacted by historic floods

KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.

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After historic floods hit south central Missouri last week, 19-year-old Sammie Magee of Louisburg, Kansas, is using her toy drive to once again step up and help those in need.

Magee founded Sammie's Toy Drive four years ago in response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed. She has hosted several toy drives since and was awarded SevenDays' Ripple of Kindness Award in 2025.

“Kids are often forgotten when something like this happens, especially natural disasters or just mass tragedies, because it’s handled in such a sterile way," Magee said.

Officials said a 23-year-old woman was killed and hundreds of others — including 202 children and counselors of a summer camp — were rescued when up to 12 inches of rain fell in Missouri's Crawford, Iron, Madison, Reynolds and Wayne counties between July 9 and 10.

The National Weather Service said the eight-inch to 12-inch rainfall totals within a 24-hour time frame is a 1-in-a-1,000-year event.

“We helped out in Kerrville, Texas, last year after their flooding," Magee said. "So, as soon as we saw this in Missouri, I was kinda like if we helped all the way there, we have to help here. This is too close to home.”

People were rescued from floodwaters, trees, rooftops and stranded vehicles, according to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe.

The Huzzah Creek and Black River saw historic flash flooding. The waterways are popular spots for float trips and campsites.

"Floods are just vicious, you lose everything," Magee said.

Magee said she is giving those impacted by the flood a week to breathe, then she will begin reaching out to libraries in the area to form partnerships for her toy drive.

In the meantime, she is beginning to collect funds through Amazon to ship toys directly to the area. Once she gets a better idea of the age range of impacted children, she will curate a specific wish list of toys.

Those interested can look at other ways to contribute to Sammie's Toy Drive by clicking here.

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