PLAINS TOWNSHIP -- Just after school Tuesday, 12-year-old Erik Trasciatti of Plains Township didn't unload his backpack out of his mom's car, but instead bags of toys.
Erik is stockpiling them in his basement for Christmas--collecting the toys not for himself, but for children in foster care.
"He came to my husband and I, and said, 'You know, when you are in foster care I don't think Santa can always find you or knows where you are at,'" said Erik's mother Michelle Trasciatti.
Erik was adopted back in 2013. For 6 years he lived in foster care and remembers waking up on Christmas morning to little, or nothing, under the tree.
"When you woke up on Christmas morning and you didn't have that many toys, it felt kind of sad, that you didn't really get as much as some kids," Erik said.
Last year Erik wrote an article in his school newspaper about what some foster kids feel during the holidays.
Then he asked family and friends to donate toys.
"This year Erik took it to the next level for sure," Erik's mother added.
Erik has enlisted the help of his Boy Scout troop and his church, Our Lady of Eucharist
Church in Pittston. In addition, all the UFCW Credit Unions in Luzerne County are accepting toys for "Gifts from Erik."
Erik's goal this year is to simply, "Help as much as I could."
Within two weeks, Erik has gathered more than 200 hundred presents for kids in foster care. He's hoping to get a few more cool toys, like another scooter by the December 17, so he can take all the toys over to the Luzerne County Children and Youth Services for foster kids to enjoy on Christmas morning.
If you would like to donate presents to "Gifts from Erik," you can drop unwrapped toys to the four UFCW Credit Union locations in Luzerne County or at Our Lady of Eucharist Church in Pittston.
