Each year during the holiday season, the students, staff, and faculty from the Cincinnati campus of Ross Medical Education Center have decided to partner with Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY) of America. SAFY holds a toy drive each year during the holiday season that benefits foster children. The Ross campus acts as a collection location for this drive to help make sure that every child has a memorable holiday. Paige Bennett, Medical Assistant student, said, “Joining the Ross family has given me joy in so many different ways. Most specifically during the holiday season when we gathered together and bought and wrapped toys for children in foster care. This experience showed me that Ross is not just a place to grow academically but also as a person. The faculty and students shared their joy with the children and gave them a Christmas worth smiling about. I am proud to be a part of this family.”
Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth “is a leading national nonprofit organization providing a full continuum of services for children and youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems” (http://www.safy.org/). SAFY sponsors youth of all ages that are currently in foster care, and they also provide care to 100 youth. The annual toy drive helps by collecting donated Christmas gifts for these children. This holiday season, they provided the Cincinnati campus with 25 tags for the gifts. Attached to each tag was important information about each child including their name, age, and interests.
That was all the direction that the Ross students, staff, and faculty needed to get started! This year, they were able to raise nearly $1,000 and provide approximately 70 gifts for their 25 assigned children and young teens. This holiday, thanks to the Cincinnati campus and other generous donors in the community, the 25 foster children sponsored by Ross and 75 others in various foster homes had wrapped gifts to open that were exactly what they had asked for. “They always do such a great job! The kids love the gifts,” said Jessica Kerns, SAFY representative. This was the campus’ third year doing the toy drive, and they look forward to working with Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth in the future! “It is a heartwarming experience to be able to provide Christmas wishes for these foster children. It brings my heart great joy watching all of my students participate in something so special and we will continue to make Christmas wishes come true for years to come!” said Amber Weithofer, Medical Assistant Instructor.
If you are interested in foster care, adoption, or other ways that you can help, visit Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY) of America’s Facebook page or website at http://www.safy.org/.