More than 4,700 Valentine's Day cards donated for foster youths

When Richland County Children Services spokeswoman Brigitte Coles was done counting Valentine's Day cards and more donations to the agency's foster youths Tuesday, the total number was more than 4,700 items including cards, books, candy and gift bags.

Coles said she was amazed at the outpouring of love.

In January, Richland County Children Services (RCCS) and the Lions Clubs of Richland County kicked off a donation drive for the 130 foster youths to receive love with Valentine’s Day cards.

Handmade cards kept coming to the agency from so many people and places, including Ohio State University Mansfield/North Central State College, Richland Correctional Institution, 179th Airlift, Richland County commissioners, Girl Scout troops and the "Busy Bees" from Primrose Retirement Community, who donated coloring books.

Valentine's cards donated by individuals, businesses, churches and more

Coles said people from all over Richland County and beyond donated cards including families, schools, churches, businesses, public officials, colleges and more, helping to make the community project a success.

The Richland County zone of the Lions Club, which is made up of Mansfield United Lions, Madison Township Lions, Shelby United Lions, Butler Lions, Butler Lioness, Bellville Lions and Ontario Lion, along with RCCS collected Valentine’s cards for children in foster care.

The cards were initially earmarked for foster youths in Richland County but because of the large number of donations, children at the Domestic Violence Shelter, Wayfinders (formerly Harmony House), Knox County Children Services and the Richland County Attention Center will also receive cards, Coles said.

Cards were either handmade or store brought and were accepted through Feb. 3.

The array of cards people made from construction paper and more filled tables in the conference room of the agency Tuesday.

“This is a wonderful collaboration with the Lions Clubs of Richland County. The Valentine’s Day Card Project gives the community an opportunity to show children in foster care that they are loved, appreciated and not alone,” Coles said.

Lions Club donated Valentine's Day gift bags last year

Last year, Valentine's Day gift bags were made for local foster youths by the Mansfield United Lions Club, after the club's president Angel Singleton proposed the idea to Coles.

This year, Coles approached Singleton and they decided to do the project on a bigger scale, never expecting to receive so many beautiful, artistic cards with handwritten messages from the community.

"I'm so thankful, very thankful. We just wanted to show them (foster youths) they are loved," Coles said.

Richland Public Health made treat bags too for the youths.

Some of the youths live out of state and Rhonda Marsh, who heads the Richland County Children Services' Kinship Navigator program, was working in the conference room readying cards to be put in the mail.

"I'm excited about it," she said. "We want to give kids hope and love and let them know they are appreciated and loved," Marsh said.

The community was invited to drop off or mail the Valentine’s Day cards to Richland County Children Services or the Mansfield Parks and Recreation Department.

Tuesday, Coles said the donations were still coming in.

Singleton received a text message on Tuesday that more cards had arrived via U.S. Postal Service from a woman in Pleasant Hill, California, to the City of Mansfield Parks office where Singleton works. Four hundred books were also donated for the foster youth.

Singleton said a friend who is a philanthropist in North Carolina also is taking some of the Valentine's cards to give to at-risk youths.

Jeff Burns of the Madison Township Lions Club and chairman of the Richland County zone, said, “Lions meet the needs of local communities and the world. The 1.4 million members of our volunteer organization in over 200 countries and geographic areas are different in many ways, but share a core belief. Community is what we make it.”

lwhitmir@gannett.com

419-521-7223

Twitter: @LWhitmir

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County Children Services shares Valentine's Day cards