For those less fortunate by Lauren

For those less fortunate by Lauren - August 2021 Scholarship Essay

I have grown up with my parents working from home and always there to support me. When I was 10, my family started fostering children. They came from all different backgrounds, but they all needed a little extra care that they had not previously received. My family fostered for about 8 years and ended up adopting two little girls. In 11th grade I began to feel called towards helping others who cannot help themselves. I got one of my friends and after going through many ideas, a clothes drive for the homeless, firefighter appreciation baskets, etc., we decided to do a school supplies drive for foster care children.
First, we contacted local organizations to see which one we could work with and after many emails and phone calls, we ended with One More Child. My friend and I shared this drive to everyone through social media and flyers posted around the school. We also told them all about why foster children need these school supplies and that they need to be cared for a lot more than the normal child because of their background. Students would bring the extra school supplies they had laying around the house and put it in the donation boxes we had placed all around school. We got many teachers to donate as well! People from all around the community pitched in to make this drive a success and eventually the supplies were driven to the One More Child building in Tampa.
Because of my family's history with fostering, I know that the money that the families get to raise each child is helpful, but not enough. These families need all the help they can get which is what I intended to provide. This drive greatly impacted me because I felt that I was finally giving back to the community that had done so much for me. This encouraged me to do more and I have planned another school supplies drive for the Key Club at my school to help with. I learned a lot about the community with this drive. Citizens are so willing to help others, especially if there is a connection. Many at my church have had foster children in the past, so they know how hard things can feel. It is important to make it as easy as possible for these families, because they do what many others could never dream of. I feel I have been called to help those who cannot help themselves and this is how I plan on doing that.