Living in foster care — away from home, friends, family and all that is familiar — is difficult enough, but during holidays, birthdays and other special days, a child’s loss is magnifiedFor Lisa and Bobby Hopkins, loss has become a reality. In 2015, their five-year-old daughter Ariella died after a sudden illness, just weeks after kindergarten graduation. Since then, the Milltown couple has worked tirelessly to keep her memory alive. The first Christmas without Ariella the family held a toy drive for children in need and CASA of Union County was among the recipients. In the last year, Ariella’s favorite park was named for her, and more than 700 people celebrated Ariella Hopkins Day and raised more than $30,000 for scholarships, veterans and their families.
Indeed, for the Hopkins, they say paying it forward means Ariella’s memory lives on. This year they promised CASA of Union County enough gifts from their second annual toy drive for every child the nonprofit serves. And they delivered. Advocates chose from items donated through the Hopkins family toy drive as well as the community in response to an online CASA wish list, and wrapped and delivered them to their CASA youth in time for the holidays.
Yet, there was more forward-paying to come, with an unusual, small-world twist. When 11- year-old Mia Papapietro of Cranford celebrated her birthday in December, she knew exactly what she wanted: nothing. Instead, she asked friends to give a child’s gift she could donate to CASA of Union County in memory of Lisa and Bobby’s Ariella.
Mia was 5 years old, according to her mom, when she first saw an empty Toys for Tots bin and insisted on remedying the issue right away. Every holiday since, Mia selects and donates a toy for charity. This year, when Mia was asked for birthday gift ideas, the fifth-grader grabbed the Ariella Hopkins toy drive flier her mom had in the kitchen — Mia’s mom and Ariella’s mom go way back — and exclaimed, “Mom! Let’s collect for your friend’s daughter!” And so it was. Mia knows Ariella’s parents want to remember their daughter by making other kids smile, and she knows CASA helps children in foster care. For Mia, that’s a win-win: “I hope the presents make them really happy and can make them forget some of the bad things they are going through,” she said.
Marla Higginbotham, CASA’s executive director, said, “When I met Bobby and Lisa Hopkins I was taken with how genuinely kind they are. They’ve focused their energy on keeping their daughter’s memory alive, but in a way that impacts others and is meaningful for the community. Truly beautiful people doing a beautiful thing. Their hearts are full of love for their daughter in a way that makes her presence larger than themselves.” Higginbotham added, “And seeing the smile on Mia’s face, happy to give to our foster children gifts that could have been only hers? That’s further proof of the impact one person can make. Actually, in this case, two children: Mia and Ariella. Our CASA kids may never know either girl, but because of them, they get to know a happy day, as every child should.”
Since 2005, CASA of Union County has been recruiting, training, supervising and supporting community volunteers to advocate for abused, neglected and abandoned children removed from home and placed in foster care. There are 600 Union County youth in care and two-thirds still need a CASA volunteer. To learn more, contact Lisa Poris at 908-527-7048.
(above) 11-year-old Mia Papapietro of Cranford celebrated her birthday in December. Instead of presents for herself, she asked friends to give a child’s gift she could donate to CASA of Union County.
