[caption id="attachment_2303" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Ed Keller, chief operating officer of the Beaumont Foundation of America, hands a $65,000 check to Buckner President Albert Reyes. “We are glad to do this for the children,” Keller said. “We are happy to bring a little bit of joy into the lives of kids who don't have a lot of it.”"][/caption]

By Analiz G. Schremmer

BEAUMONT, Texas—For four straight years, the Beaumont Foundation has donated money to buy clothes for children served in the Buckner foster care program.

“We are glad to do this for the children,” said Ed Keller, chief operating officer of the Beaumont Foundation of America. “We want them to have the opportunity to buy the clothing they want. We get very positive feedback from the children who benefit.”

Later, he added, “We are happy to bring a little bit of joy into the lives of kids who don’t have a lot of it.”

Laura May, who serves as the administrator for Buckner in Beaumont, said that the $65,000 donation translates to making hurt children feel valued.

“Some of our children come into Buckner with absolutely nothing; no clothes, no self esteem, no hope,” May said. “The gift of new clothes helps them know that they matter and also cheers up children who may have never had much at all.”

“We recently took one girl shopping with the Beaumont Foundation money,” May said. “And when they were about to buy the clothes, the childcare worker noticed that the sizes were not going to fit the little girl, so she asked if she’d tried them on. Well the girl told her that she didn’t know you could do that because she’d never tried on new clothes before. She said you could tell that this was really a big event for her.

“Another story,” she continued, “was one about a little boy of about 7 who ran up to me and said 'Ms. Laura, I gotta show you something.' He opened up his drawers and in there were all these new clothes folded neatly and he said, ‘Can you believe that everything in that drawer is mine?’ You could tell it was the first time he’d gotten to have new clothes.”

Buckner President Albert Reyes said he is thankful for the Beaumont Foundation’s continued support of Buckner.

“Our heart is always for the children,” Reyes said. “So we are very appreciative because we know that this will make a difference in the lives of some of the most vulnerable members of our society—young people who have been separated from their families.”