Local Students Raise Money for Foster Children

By HEIDI PRUITT
The Kokomo Post staff

A little change from students helped create big change for foster kids this week through a unique annual fundraiser at Redeemer Lutheran School.

For the last three years, more than 100 students from pre-K to eighth grade at Redeemer Lutheran School in Kokomo have participated in Penny Wars, a challenge for students to bring spare change to school, in which each grade competes for the most money raised. 

There’s a catch, though. Coins such as pennies count as points, and silver coins and dollars count for negative points. For example, one quarter cancels out 25 pennies, making the competition much more difficult. 

Each grade had a bucket outside of their room, and for two days, all students were given five minutes to run around the school, strategically planning which classroom’s change to counteract. 

The money raised from this year's efforts went to a cause near and dear to Redeemer Lutheran’s heart. One of their own teachers, Laura Martin, runs a local nonprofit with her husband and a few of their friends called Foster the Need. Often, children who are placed in foster care don’t have the basic supplies they need to be comfortable in a new setting.

Foster the Need provides supplies such as soap, toothbrushes, socks, pajamas, diapers, wipes and bottles for children being placed into foster care. 

Originally a service project in 2018, Foster the Need transformed into a nonprofit once the group realized need for continuous supplies.

Since its inception, Foster the Need has supplied resources to more than 30 counties in the Midwest. In Indiana currently, there are approximately 13,000 children in foster care. 

“Working with Redeemer Lutheran School’s family has been such a blessing for me,” said Martin. “From the beginning, they’ve been so warm and so welcoming, the students, the parents and the facility here. It was overwhelmingly emotional for me to watch these kids care for other kids in their community.”

For the children, it was a lesson in giving.

“In the process of everyone having fun, we get to help foster kids get the stuff they need,” said Piper, a member of the student council who participated in putting together the initiative. 

Principal Eric Frisco, who’s worked at the school for two years, values the opportunity this gives the students to be able to focus on other people instead of themselves.

“It’s nice that we are such a mission-focused school,” said Frisco. 

“It's just awesome to see them willing to be so giving and involved,” said Erin Jorgenson, who's been a teacher at Redeemer Lutheran for five years. 

At the end of the fundraiser, the total amount of money raised amounted to $1,800. With that money, the school was able to present Martin with a ton of supplies, including clothes, wipes, diapers and more. 

For more information on how you can help, email Laura at Lauran.martin@outlook.com.