A flock of butterflies circle the garden at Coppell Middle School East on Thursday, amongst dozens of a community, all holding the memory of Taylor Storch in their minds.
In the center of the garden stood Storch’s family for the Taylor Storch Memorial Garden rededication and birthday celebration.
The rededication of the garden to Taylor, hosted by CMSE’s Student Council, included speeches from her parents, Todd and Tara Storch, a singing of “Happy Birthday,” and a ribbon cutting.
The Taylor Storch Memorial Garden was established by CMSE with Mr. Storch and Mrs. Storch after the death of their 13-year-old daughter in 2010 from a skiing accident. The garden was established in 2010, and has evolved into a haven for CMSE since.
For the rededication of the garden, the CMSE Student Council built a Little Free Library to commemorate Taylor, introduced with a ribbon cutting in the garden by Mrs. Storch.
“Being able to help at an event like this means that we’re finally giving the recognition that I think Taylor deserves,” seventh grader Aditi Mishra said. “When we went to sixth grade, we didn’t really learn about Taylor that much. This helped us to learn more about her.

The memorial also recognizes National Donate Life Month in addition to Taylor’s birthday on April 19. Taylor saved five lives through organ donation, inspiring Mr. and Mrs. Storch to start Taylor’s Gift, a nonprofit organization providing grief support to donor families.
“It was a beautiful gift that she was able to give to five other people, and I think knowing that Taylor outlived herself in such a beautiful way was part of bringing purpose to the pain that we were feeling,” Mrs. Storch said. “Knowing she was carried on in such a beautiful way, and the ripple effect of good that happened for these other families was incredible.”
The Storch family intends for Taylor’s legacy to speak through the garden, serving a communal amenity for Coppell students to enjoy.
“Taylor would just love coming to East,” Mr. Storch said. “The garden has just been so special to our family, to our family in just knowing that there’s a place where people can come and just enjoy. It’s absolutely fabulous, but this is really a community garden.”
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