Pocono News Section

Student Collects Foster Care Donations

Student Collects Foster Care Donations - Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 4:27PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 @ 04:27pm EST
Williamsport, Lycoming County-

Hundreds of foster kids in central Pennsylvania can look forward to a brighter start. And it’s all thanks to the generous ambition of one local elementary school student.

When Skylar Hoover has a great idea, he goes all out. So when he decided to gather toys and personal care items for local foster kids, he enlisted plenty of help.

Skylar, a 5th grade student at Cochran Elementary School, said, “My classmates have been bringing in a lot of items, so that really helps.”

Teacher Jeanne Goodell explained, “He made fliers and went around to each homeroom and hyped it up with a few of his classmates. And two weeks later the donations kept pouring in.”

But where did he come up with such an ambitious plan? Hoover said, “My mom sort of inspires me because she works for foster kids.”

Mom Kristi works at Families United Network, a non-profit foster and adoption care agency. Skylar says he wanted other kids to have the same things he does.

Kristi Hoover noted, “A lot of times when our kids come into care, they don’t have toothbrushes and toothpaste and so he felt that it was very important for them to get those items. And so that’s where this all kind of started.”

Skylar Hoover says he wanted to make his mark and do something people would remember before he left Cochran Elementary. And for the hundreds of foster children who will receive these donations, he has certainly succeeded.

School counselor Eric Edler noted, “Every year I think we look to the adults to see different organizations help out during this time of year to provide gifts and coats and stuff. And this is the first that I’ve actually seen a student head up a program and actually have such great success at it too.”

Skylar’s donation drive wraps up in less than a week. He hopes his efforts will encourage others to get involved as well.

Skylar added, “It’s the time of giving right now since it’s winter time, so they should just give back a little.”

The donations will be sorted by employees at the Families United Network. They will then be handed out to the foster families.

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