Hillcrest Rotary Helps 'Children of the Dump'

Members of the Rotary Club of Hillcrest-Sunrise shipped off 54 boxes of school supplies, clothes, toys and other items to help out the "children of the dump" in Chinandega, Nicaragua.

Rotary International has been providing assistance to the area since finding out about the conditions there about 12 years ago.

"Some members went down there and found these kids who are living off the dump, scavenging for food," said Michael Johns Jr., president of the Hillcrest-Sunrise Rotary chapter.

Rotary members helped get a school built and collect shoeboxes annually to provide essentials to students.

Hillcrest-Sunrise was one of 12 local chapters that put together shoeboxes, which were headed to Michigan before being shipped to Texas by .

"The kids that get them are the ones who are excelling. They're showing up, they're doing their homework," Johns said. "If you saw the video of what these kids look like and what they go through, it's amazing."

Of the 54 shoeboxes collected by Hillcrest-Sunrise, 50 were filled by members and their families, Johns said.

"My daughters – they are 20 and 21 – did two shoeboxes with their friends," he added.

He said people buying items for boxes are given the child's age, sex and a shopping list and one of his daughters was proud that she was a savvy enough shopper to be able to put a shoebox together for $30.

"It's a great way to get these young kids involved in helping people," Johns said.