Student-led Charlotte-area nonprofit collects toys for hospitalized children

A Charlotte-area nonprofit led by high school students is collecting toys for children receiving care at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital.

Official response and confirmed impact

The group, Counts for Kids, aims to bring happiness to children facing difficult circumstances.

Angel Chang, a senior at Weddington High School in Union County, started Counts for Kids in 2023.

Chang said she started the group to help other children and their families.

“I wanted to make a difference in other kids’ lives and just make their lives easier, make them happy, and help families who are going through stuff and just make it easier for them,” Chang said.

Since 2023, the student-led group has organized donation drives, created handmade seasonal cards and assembled 100 kindness boxes for children in daycares, shelters, or hospitals.

The group has grown to about 50 students across the Charlotte area.

President and Weddington High junior, Amelia Thomaj, said the group recently held a craft event at a hospital.