Makenzie Snyder has raised the bar during this holiday season of giving.
At the young age of 13, Makenzie runs a program that helps disadvantaged children in the foster care system deal with the rigors of being constantly on the move.
"It made me feel really bad when I heard that they had to carry their stuff in trash bags that I just went through the roof," Makenzie told ABCNEWS. "I was like, I have to do something about this."
She decided to do something about it when she was only 7 years old, after meeting a foster child who kept all his belongings in a trash bag. Makenzie thought it was dehumanizing.
With the help of her parents and a $15,000 grant from the Freddie Mac mortgage company, she started a Web site and a program called Children to Children in 1998, which solicits donations from the public. Money, bags, teddy bears and much more have been pouring in ever since.
Makenzie's organization has donated more than 30,000 duffel bags and stuffed animals to U.S. foster children, along with a personalized letter telling the kids to never give up hope.
"I know a lot of [foster children] don't have a stuffed animal," said Makenzie, "and I give them a stuffed animal to cuddle with and love."
Home Depot and Southern Management Corp. donated material and built Makenzie a free-standing office — which Home Depot furnished — in the backyard of her Maryland home. The bags and stuffed animals are stored before being shipped out in warehouse space donated by Storage USA.
"A tractor trailer will pull up to our house [and I'll] say, 'Tell me that's not for Makenzie!' " said her mom, Margie Snyder. "And they always are."
Makenzie makes a trip to the post office every day after school for the day's donations and deliveries. After a stop at the local ice cream parlor for a snack, Makenzie then goes home to log, sort and prepare for the weekend when her friends and family will help stuff and ship the duffel bags to those in need.
