ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — Two young girls are going above and beyond to make Christmas special for other children in their community.
The girls, just 9- and 10 years old, worked to collect toys to donate to foster children. The girls feared those children might not be getting many gifts this holiday season.
The result of their efforts surpassed their own expectations.
Terah Mills, 10, said she was sitting in class one day when an idea just popped into her mind.
“I was sitting in class one day and I wanted to help. I didn’t know how to help, but I just wanted to help,” Terah said, speaking of helping foster children.
She told her friend Brianna Ramdatt, 9, about her idea. They share some classes together and both go to the Boys and Girls Club in St. Lucie County.
“She asked me if we should do a toy drive, so I said sure,” Brianna said.
They told their idea to the staff at the Boys and Girls Club. Staff jumped at the opportunity to bring it to life.
“Because they don’t have families and they don’t have homes. They just go to this foster home and they don’t have toys to play with,” the girls said.
Marketing Director Mitch Kloorfain said everyone at the club supported what became the Jolly Toy Love Holiday Toy Drive.
Collection boxes were placed at all of the club locations in the county.
The girls went on the radio to promote their toy drive.
“This was all on them,” Kloorfain said. “That was the first time we had really done [toy collection] for an outside agency. So, it gives them a little feeling of giving back at a young age.”
The girls had one goal in mind. “About 20 or 30,” Brianna said.
They far surpassed that.
“Probably a good 500 or 600 toys they collected. And stuffed animals,” Kloorfain said.
“We were mind blown,” said Terah.
The toys were donated to Communities Connected for Kids, which will distribute the toys to various foster agencies.
“I was very proud of her for coming up with it,” Brianna said about Terah.
Now, Kloorfain hopes to make this toy drive an annual tradition for the Boys and Girls Club in St. Lucie County.
“I’m always a big fan of taking whatever we did and making it bigger and better for the next time,” Kloorfain said.
The girls also received a $,1,500 check to take shopping to buy more gifts for children.