CHILDREN GIVE TOYS TO SAFE HOUSE

A group of children at the Safe House will have a better Christmas this year thanks to the efforts of a group of kids from Jackson.

The Safe House will get about $260 worth of toys and treats this week thanks to the fund-raising efforts of three 11-year-olds, Jessica Vaeth, Chelsea Bolen and Chelsea Niswonger, and two 7-year-olds, Zachary Vaeth and Bobby Clark, who call themselves Kids 4 Kids.

"We wanted to show that there are kids who care," said Jessica Vaeth. "We thought around Christmas it would be nice to do something."

So Jessica and her brother Zachary talked to their friends and came up with the idea of handing out ribbons and accepting donations.

Their mom, Louana Vaeth, helped by contacting Hobby Lobby and Staples and getting some supplies donated, but the children did the rest.

They spent a long evening last week cutting 5-inch-long pieces of rainbow-stripped ribbon, then twisted and pinned them onto more than 350 2-by-3 1/2-inch cards on which were printed a poem the children created.

On Saturday, the group, or at least the girls in the group, spent seven hours in front of Mr. Bulky at West Park Mall handing out the ribbons. (The 7-year-olds only lasted about two hours).

"Some people ignored us," said Jessica. "Some asked what we were doing, and when we told them they would donate."

Some just took the card, but many of those came back later to donate after reading the poem, Jessica said.

The poem that inspired the giving:

A rainbow can make anyone smile,

But none is greater than that of a child.

Please wear our rainbow to help us remind

That to all of God's children we must be kind.

Our rainbows, like God's, to all are free,

But a small donation will put a gift under the tree.

Kids 4 Kids thanks you, you'll help make a difference

And we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

"We were surprised at people's generosity," Jessica said.

Late Saturday afternoon, they opened the can used to collect the donations. After counting the change and the dollar bills, they had collected $260.

Then Tuesday, they took that money and went shopping for toys for children at the Safe House.

"We had read an article in the newspaper about a mother and her children at Safe House and decided that would be a good place to buy for," Jessica said.

The story included a list with the ages and requests of several children, and the Kids 4 Kids group used that list in selecting the gifts. They bought Barbies, Pokemon toys, remote control cars and WWF figures.

Playing Santa and buying toys to give away was a new experience for these youngsters, they said, but one they all enjoyed.

"It was fun to shop for them," Zachary said.

"Most people don't have as good a Christmas as we do, so it was good to help out," said Chelsea Bolen.

Dena Pehlman, shelter director at Safe House, said the women's shelter often gets donations from organizations like Girl Scouts and church youth groups, but it's rare for children to organize such efforts on their own.

Louana Vaeth is proud of the group and its efforts to help others.

"You hear so much about the bad stuff kids do, but kids really do care and want to help," she said.

The way to encourage that is to get children to invest in helping others and get them involved in creating a better future, Vaeth said.

"We had never really done anything for others like this before," Jessica said, but noted that she'd like to continue such efforts.

She said Kids 4 Kids is already making plans to raise more money and do more good deeds next year.