A $5000 toy donation brightens coronavirus quarantine for dozens of Portland foster children

Robin Harris runs a Northeast Portland group home that includes several foster children with intellectual developmental disabilities. Prior to coronavirus, one of their favorite activities was the short walk to the corner convenience store.

Being able to get a drink and a snack and say hello to the store owner made their day. Coronavirus has shuttered the store and an important opportunity to interact.

It meant something last weekend when Joseph "Jay" Kapp arranged to have a large shipment of games, puzzles and educational toys delivered to the home.

"It was like Christmas all over for them again," Harris said.

Kapp, a court-appointed special advocate (CASA), has watched the impact coronavirus outbreak has had on the special-needs children throughout Portland. Home-bound since the middle of March, the daily interaction and learning was all but lost since the virus struck.

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Working with the tutoring company Stumptown Test Prep and SpielWerk Toys and a Go Fund Me account that had raised $5,000, Kapp bought and delivered boxes of stimulus to 35 foster children last weekend. The delivery included chemistry sets, 3-D puzzles and self-powered robots. Most of the toys and games were literacy or STEM-based.

CASAs don't live with the children but advocate for their needs. Kapp said CASAs typically aren't allowed to spend money on the children they oversee, but he received approval for last weekend's donation because of the current quarantine environment.

"Moving away from school, I knew this population was missing out on a lot of opportunities," Kapp said. "I was concerned about the absence of their support network. There is going to be a loss of growth from the past year."

Kapp said it took about a week to raise $5,000 to purchase the games and toys. He's looking to do more, as Kapp says "we've just scratched the surface in terms of what these kids need."

-- Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel

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