H.S. club finds a niche offering help to others BY TALI ISRAELI Staff Writer Marlboro MARLBORO - A conversation with Nicole Landesman is like talking with a quintessential high school student. But beneath her bubbly character lies the kindness to help a child. Nicole, a senior at Marlboro High School, organized a program last year in order to aid foster children. Kids For Kids, sponsored by the high school, focuses on collecting items such as household necessities, clothing and canned goods that are eventually distributed to foster children throughout New Jersey. The members of Kids For Kids have recently been working with the Children's Home Society of New Jersey (CHS) to distribute the items they have collected to foster children in need. Kids For Kids has also participated in the society's Baby Bottle Foundation, which collects money to donate to infants who are in need of baby essentials. According to the society's Internet Web site, CHS is a nonprofit organization that helps at-risk infants, children, youths and families. The group protects abused or neglected infants and children, strengthens families and strives for stable, permanent and loving homes. CHS gives parents the knowledge they need to help their children and themselves, according to the Web site. Last year, Kids For Kids organized several donation drives for winter clothing, household items, healthcare items and baby care necessities. Nicole said the club's primary drive focused on collecting jackets. She said about 50 coats were collected and more than $500 was raised. The money was donated to CHS and the clothing was given to local drives which distribute the items to foster families. "I couldn't believe how much stuff we got," Nicole said. "The club is very popular and well-known." Kids For Kids currently has about 80 members, with 60 freshmen interested in signing up this year, according to Nicole. The club's first meeting of the year is expected to take place in the next few weeks. After several years of volunteer work with children, Nicole said she was looking for a new way to help the community when she remembered an encounter she had with a foster child. The youngster had visited Nicole's home and expressed amazement at how much Nicole had. "I felt so fortunate. I felt so bad for her, the way she grew up," Nicole said, adding that when the club was being formed she had reservations about how much work was required. But that all changed when she got the letters. Nicole said CHS has received letters from foster children thanking them for the clothing. It was those letters that made the effort worthwhile for her. "I felt so good that I did that. It was so worth putting in the time," she said. "At first you can't tell how much you are helping because it's all paperwork, but then you realize you're collecting for people. And you don't even realize how much you're helping until someone tells you." The members of Kids For Kids are hoping to collect dolls and stuffed animals for their primary drive this year, which Nicole said will begin closer to the holidays and will run through the winter. Nicole said the group is interested in participating in other area organizations including the Zachary Foundation's third annual walk in October. The foundation raises money and awareness for the incurable mitochondrial disease pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency.