Pattonville High School sophomore Nile Trice recently celebrated her 16th birthday in a unique way. Nile hosted a party at the Creve Coeur Ice Skating Rink where she collected more than $1,600 in gifts to be donated to the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition.
Attendees at Nile’s birthday party earned free admission by bringing items most frequently requested by foster children – an MP3 player, bath and body products, a gift card or a remote control vehicle. It is a tradition Nile began when she was in the sixth grade. Within five years, she has raised nearly $5,300.
“The one thing I’ve learned through my birthday charity events is that we all have the power to touch another person’s life in a positive way,” Nile said. “You just have to want to do it and not let anyone or anything stop you.”
Because of her efforts, Nile said many people have told her that they plan to host similar birthday charity events.
“We actually had a family that was thinking about adopting a child,” Nile said.
“We’re all very proud of her,” said Pattonville Principal Joe Dobrinic.
Dobrinic said that Nile is a dedicated student and a young lady with outstanding principles. Each year she selects a different local charity to support. This year she wanted to do something more personal in honor of her 9-year-old brother Jadon, who is adopted.
The Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition is a United Way agency. For 25 years, the agency has strived to create permanency in every foster child’s life by recruiting and supporting foster and adoptive families in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Nile donated her gifts to the organization’s Birthday Buddies Program, coordinated by volunteer Fonda Fontroy Richards. The program matches donors with requests from foster children who would not otherwise receive a gift on their birthdays.
Richards, who has volunteered with the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition for nearly four years, is the adoptive mother of six and the proud grandmother of 15.
“Foster parents are often short on funds but long on love,” Richards said. “They want to give their foster children a gift, but just don’t have the financial means. We are always looking for more donors – especially for older teens who often go without.”
Like Alexis, who will celebrate her 16th birthday in July and is in need of a donor to make her birthday wishes come true. Alexis has been in foster care for about two years. For her 16th birthday, Alexis has requested tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals game, a gift card to Forever 21, or a Fandango gift card that she could use at a movie theater.
According to Shelley Thomas-Benke, director of FosterServe Volunteers, over 50 percent of children in the Birthday Buddies Program are teenagers in transitional or independent living who have high chances of aging out of the foster care system without families.
“They really have no adult in their life close to them who are buying them gifts,” Thomas-Benke said.
Gifts should be donated by July 16 to reach Alexis in time for her birthday. Prospective donors can view the birthday wishes and notify the organization of their desire to fill a request or more. For more information, visit www.foster-adopt.org/BeaBirthdayBuddy.
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil.
