LARGO, Fla. — Gail Brnich has spent 15 years collecting clothes, shoes and personal items for Pinellas County children entering foster care.
On a recent Saturday, Brnich organized what she called a “baby shower” with her neighbors in the Coastal Ridge community to collect gifts for foster children, including donated clothes, bags of items and other supplies.
Brnich said she learned about the needs of children entering foster care while working in Child Protective Services for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
“This was them carrying it all in,” Brnich said of a photo showing a previous donation effort with her grandchildren at the Sheriff’s Office.
Brnich said that after one donation trip, her grandchildren asked if they could do it again.
“And on the way home, they said, ‘Grandma, can’t we do this again next year?’” Brnich said. “I said, ‘Absolutely, we can do it as a baby shower here and invite all my friends.’”
Her grandchildren helped her organize a donation event in 2011.
“They made the flyers, wrote out thank you cards and they even did some of the cooking,” Brnich said.
Brnich continued donating over the years, sometimes with help from family and sometimes on her own. She said one year, she found a deal while a chain store was closing and bought 100 pairs of shoes for $1 each.
“My cart was totally filled,” Brnich said. “It was fantastic.”
The donations from the recent neighborhood event will go to an organization called Voices for Children.
“Oh, I love it,” Brnich said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Brnich said she hopes her work with her grandchildren encourages other grandparents to help foster children.
“Because parents don’t have time for that,” Brnich said. “Grandparents do, and it’s a great way for grandparents to connect with their grandkids.”
Brnich said the work continues to be meaningful for her.
“I enjoy it,” Brnich said. “It makes me feel good. And I think that’s what everybody does.”