WINONA LAKE – The Pottery Bayou raised more than $1,400 in January for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. Deena Cutshall, store owner, donated all studio fees from customers in January to families affected by the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December. “We were originally inspired by the call for handmade snowflakes that would adorn the new school that Sandy Hook elementary kids would attend. We asked our customers to join us in making snowflakes and we would mail them to Connecticut,” Cutshall said. “Within three weeks we learned that Newtown had already received a tractor trailer load of snowflake items. They asked that no more be sent. So, I did some research and found that the United Way was setting up a fund for donations for the victims' families.” She said she decided to donate money instead of sending all the snowflakes the store had received. They sent the check to the support fund in early February. “We thought this would be a great way to encourage our customers to help be a part of Newtown’s recovery,” she said.
