CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It all started at church four years ago when Victoria Moreno's cousin gave her an Easter basket.
The feeling it gave her lit a fire in the now 12-year-old, and she decided to start giving back to her community.
"That made me think about the kids who don’t get Easter baskets," Victoria said. "So I decided to make some for them.”
That first year it was 15 baskets, but on Friday, Victoria and her family dropped off 48 of them to CASA of the Coastal Bend to be given to foster children.
Filling dozens of Easter baskets with candy, snacks, toys, and much more takes lots of time and money, but the Bishop Garriga Middle Preparatory Schooler's mother says it's worth it.
“It’s something she loves to do," Christina Moreno said. "She loves giving back to the community. So if I have to pay six hundred dollars for this for her then I will."
Local CASA leaders are grateful to be able to pass along the Easter baskets to the foster kids they serve.
Director of Marketing and Recruitment Samantha Koepp-Stemplinger says it gives them a sense of normalcy and the knowledge that people care about them.
She also says that someone so young being so generous is an inspiration to others.
“It’s a great way for the community to see that no matter what your capacity is to give it makes a difference," Koepp-Stemplinger said. "We can all do something.”
Victoria is already looking forward to next Easter.
She and her mother are considering upping their basket production to 55 -- another group of kids who will experience a holiday that might have otherwise gone without.
“It makes me feel pretty happy whenever I do this, because I know that I’m making a bunch of kids happy,” Victoria said.
