CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The amount of kids in the foster-care system is high here in the Coastal Bend.
With that in mind, a local non-profit group tries to brighten up each holiday to try to make them feel loved and cared for.
More than 1,000 kids were in the foster-care system in the Coastal Bend area in 2018, and many of the kids are victims of child abuse or neglect.
Only some of them have a place to go -- that's because of the lack of foster homes in our area.
So, to help kids feel cared for and thought about by the community for Easter, A World for Children, a foster-care service, throws an Easter Bash.
“It was fun because we would go to the park with them and collect eggs with them and we would save them until they got torn up,” said former foster child Damecia.
Girls who were in the foster-care system said it's the little things, like Easter baskets for the holidays, that make them feel comfortable throughout the year.
“Joyful, because they really care about us,” said former foster child Emari.
Barbara Alonzo, who adopted both girls, said her daughters have great memories of the baskets they received years ago.
“They're excited, jumping around the house with candy, of course, and they always put toys in there,” Alonzo said. “The older kids, they get gift cards.”
This year, a World for Children is low on donations for the Easter baskets.
They're asking community members to help by providing Easter eggs, confetti eggs, and Easter toys.
All the donated items will go to the 1,000 kids currently in foster care.
If you'd like to help you can call 361-289-8887 or stop by 5151 Flynn Parkway Suite #511 Corpus Christi, Texas.