By Noah Lyons | [email protected] | The San Diego Union-Tribune
Will and Noah Stupin were taught from an early age the importance of giving to their community. Their mother, Taylor, encouraged them to identify a cause they cared about and take action by volunteering.
"I think it's so important for kids to realize there's a whole world outside of our little bubble -- especially here in La Jolla -- where people are not as fortunate and aren't as lucky in life to have a nice family, a home and their basic needs," she said.
This summer, Will, 9, was drawn to a billboard on La Jolla Boulevard promoting Voices for Children, a nonprofit that seeks to help abused, abandoned and neglected children by providing them with Court Appointed Special Advocates.
CASAs are volunteers who are matched with children in foster care to make sure their needs are being met and to report at regular court hearings on how the children are doing.
"I thought I had a good life and I was so lucky to have a good life, and then I thought there were others out there who didn't, so I wanted to help out," Will said.
In addition to training and providing Court Appointed Special Advocates, Voices for Children holds events such as an annual holiday party for foster children and their CASAs where the kids are given stuffed animals and books.
In early September, the Stupin brothers began collecting donations and advocating for the cause. They've done so in part by leaving notes for local businesses and dropping off nearly 200 fliers across La Jolla.
Will and Noah, 7, have taken their fundraising efforts on the road, too, promoting their initiative in front of the InLight Institute booth at the recent La Jolla Art & Wine Festival and placing signs at a book fair for Noah's school, Bird Rock Elementary.
Their door-to-door approach has yielded success. Geppetto's toy store in La Jolla pledged $750 worth of books to the initiative, while Vons in Pacific Beach donated more than $200 worth of stuffed animals.
The brothers' promotional material features QR codes that community members can use to buy gifts that Voices for Children recommends.
The Stupin family also accepts Venmo donations and has a donation bin outside their home.
The Voices for Children holiday event typically draws about 200 foster youths, each of whom receives a toy and book. The Stupin family set a goal of collecting 75 stuffed animals and 150 book donations by Monday, Nov. 18, though Taylor said they hope to exceed that number.
In the span of a month, they already collected about 50 stuffed animals and 50 books.
Voices for Children President and Chief Executive Jessica Muñoz commended the Stupins for their efforts. She said it is inspiring to see any community engagement and support, and especially so in Will and Noah's case.
"It's exponentially more heartwarming when you think about two little boys, who are children themselves, who have huge hearts and wherewithal to want to make a difference in the life of a peer -- truly a peer -- who they will never meet," Muñoz said.
The brothers' next fundraising endeavor is a bake sale set for 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at Bird Rock's Calumet Park, 5424 Calumet Ave. Customers can buy a variety of treats, including chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies, with all proceeds going toward the purchase of stuffed animals and books.
Though Taylor helps with logistical matters, Will and Noah make the promotional material in their own handwriting and ask for donations and otherwise engage the community.
"I'm just here to help support them in anything they need," Taylor said. "I'm just so happy that they feel empathy for other people, and I'm hoping they can help motivate more people to help, too."
Noah said he shares that mission of promoting empathy.
"If you only care about yourself, you might accidentally brag and talk about yourself too much rather than others," he said.