Stoneham Student Recipient of DCF Inaugural Award

A release from Stoneham's St. Patrick School:

WESTBOROUGH, MA - Stoneham's Carter McFadden, 13, a seventh-grader at the St. Patrick School was honored Friday as an inaugural recipient of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) “Ella’s Kids Helping Kids Award” at their annual Pride In Performance Award Ceremony held in Westborough.

The award is named after 13-year-old Ella Gibbs, who with funds raised with the help of family, friends and the community, created “The Pillow Project” where Ella teaches pillow making to kids, especially those in need of comfort, including those receiving DCF services. Her compassion for the children she worked with left a lasting impression on DCF staff and led to the creation of this new award.

Like Ella, Carter McFadden gave of himself to bring comfort to children is his community. In December, Carter learned that sadly, most kids entering the foster care system have nothing more than a trash bag in which to carry their belongings. Carter embarked on a mission and partnered with “Together We Rise”, a national charitable organization that helps caring community members do something meaningful for kids entering the foster care system. Carter set a goal to raise enough money to provide 25 “Sweet Cases” to the local DCF office in Malden. “Sweet Cases” are hand decorated duffel bags ,which contain teddy bears, blankets, coloring books, crayons, and hygiene kits.

As community interest grew in supporting Carter’s fundraising campaign, he quickly surpassed his original goal of providing 20 cases. The community responded with overwhelming support for Carter’s campaign, allowing him to far surpass his goal and raise $2280.00, enough funds to provide 90 bags to the Malden DCF office.

Due to the sheer number of duffel bags that needed to be hand decorated and stuffed with the necessary items, Carter needed help. Carter approached his Principal at St. Patrick’s asking if his classmates could assist him in his mission to make the difference in the lives of children entering foster care. St. Patrick School Principal, Anthony Fontana, jumped at the opportunity to help in this effort allowed all of the middle school students to participate. With the help of the community and his classmates, Carter was able to supply 90 Sweet Cases duffel bags to the DCF.

Carter was presented with his award by Linda S. Spears, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, along with Gus Rago, Area Program Manager from the Malden DCF.

Photo Caption: Stoneham’s Carter McFadden (center) is pictured with Massachusetts DCF Commissioner Linda S. Spears (left) and Gus Rago (right) of the Malden DCF office.