Huntington Helpers: Looking Out for Foster Kids

Huntington resident Joseph Toles was in foster care from birth until he was aged out of the system when he was 21. He knows from personal experience about the fears and insecurities that develop when a child doesn’t have a family or a permanent role model in life.  

He also knows that there is hope. “I share my story because I want kids to know there is an end,” he said. “Kids in foster care sometimes feel very hopeless and isolated.”

Toles, who is director of Candlewood Counseling Center  in the Half Hallow Hills School District, founded The Joseph Toles Foundation in 2006. One of the functions of the foundation is to provide for children in foster care to have a camping experience where they are safe, respected and loved. For one week every year, kids are given the opportunity to just be kids as they retreat to the Catskill Mountains Swan Lake.

Now, Toles has a shot at a $50,000 grant to help this program, as he competes to be one of the winners chosen for January in The Pepsi Refresh Challenge, an initiative designed by PepsiCo Beverages to fund good ideas that help to “refresh” the world.

Each month, ideas are submitted in categories that include health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. Grants start at $5,000 for smaller projects submitted by individuals and go up to $250,000 for larger organizations.

 "The Pepsi Refresh Project was developed with the belief that great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, anytime," said Jill Beraud, CMO and president of joint ventures, PepsiCo Beverages Americas. “Someone from any walk of life can produce powerful, creative and fun ideas that can make a difference."

Individuals and organizations are invited to submit their ideas for consideration. After they are reviewed, approved projects are posted on the Pepsi Refresh Project website where they are voted on for the entire month.

Toles' project, Camp Resilience, proposes to provide one week of camping for  at least 150 children who are living in foster care. Camp activities will focus on cooperation and increasing campers’ interpersonal skills and self-esteem through creativity. Kids will learn about self confidence, and how to deal with emotions. They will also have an opportunity to connect with other children in foster care. He wants to let them know that other kids are going through the same thing and that they can get through it together.

With voting ending on Jan. 31, Toles’ proposal is currently ranked number 263. In order to win $50,000 for his organization, he needs enough votes to put him in the top 10 in that prize category. Finalists will be announced on Feb.1.

 “I will continue to do this with every last breath in my lungs; to advocate for the kids who don’t have voices for themselves,” Toles said in a News12 interview after being named one of “12 Making a Difference."

 “Some of the children have been in upwards of 25 foster homes during their lives, and here, for at least a week, they can get an opportunity to feel safe with somebody and to know that they’re accepted and that it’s home.”

To vote for The Joseph Toles Foundation in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge, visit the website, or vote from your mobile phone by texting 105221 to Pepsi (73774)