Contributed A STATEWIDE EFFORT — As a state officer of Future Business Leaders of America, Lorelei Costlow led FBLA members at Brooke High School and chapters throughout the state in collecting items for youth in foster situations. Among those involved at Brooke were, from left, front: Ava Roach, Ty Sperringer, Cooper Byers, Ryan Haught, Luke Haught, Gavin Scott and Jazmyn Wood; and back: Maya Kusic, Morgan McKinney, Grace Spitak, Elliot McDonald, Faith Farrell, Costlow and Ivy Myers.

WELLSBURG — A leader of the Brooke High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America has led a statewide effort to help comfort children and teens who find themselves in a strange situation.

Lorelei Costlow, who is the chapter’s president and state treasurer of the student organization, recruited chapters at about 20 West Virginia schools, including her own, to put together the Pack for Promise campaign, through which bags filled with personal hygiene items, school supplies and other things to help youth placed in foster homes feel a little more comfortable.

FBLA chapters from 20 West Virginia schools donated more than 70 bags, with the Brooke chapter providing 32 of them.

To be distributed through the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia’s 27 bases of operation, including Wheeling, the bags fall into the following categories: hygiene bags, with toothpaste, shampoo and other self-care products; school supply bags, filled with paper, pencils and other materials for school; entertainment bags, with a stuffed animal, blanket, hat and gloves; and entertainment bags containing board games, puzzles, cards and other items to take the recipients’ minds off any uncertainty they may be facing.

Chad Haught, adviser of the Brooke chapter, said, “By uniting schools in a single statewide initiative, Pack for Promise demonstrates the power of collaboration and service, reinforcing the importance of leadership, empathy and community involvement in creating positive change.”