Dewitt - When a Lansing youth group dropped its donation off at the Child and Family Services of Lansing, it immediately decided it wanted to do more.

When the members of the Youth Action Committee of the Capital Region Community Foundation brought a money donation to the center, 4287 Five Oaks Drive in Lansing, they noticed the organization had a sparse amount of donated clothing.

"I made up a video, posted posters for the schools and got our junior high school involved," said Hillary Pasch, action committee co-chair and a DeWitt High School senior. "I really enjoy community service and it helps me to want to better the lives of youth in the tri-county area.

The 27 Lansing-area students of the action committee decided to help by holding a clothing drive in March to collect clothes for area youth in foster care. The committee members also participate in monthly service projects and grant money from the youth fund to local nonprofit organizations.

"It's an opportunity a lot of kids don't get," Pasch said.

Haslett, Okemos, Lansing Catholic Central, Mason, Sexton and East Lansing high schools also participated in the clothing drive. Sixteen students from the various schools collected clothing throughout the week and organized the collection.

The students gathered tables full of clothing to donate to the center, which collects clothing and other donations for Lansing families.

"I like doing the community service because it feels good to know you're improving someone else's life," said Ellen Creal, an Okemos High School junior.

The clothing drive was held to collect for teens who enter foster care without any of their own clothes. In Ingham County there are about 1,000 children in foster care and more than 50 percent of them are teenagers.

Pauline Pasch, adviser to the action committee, said many of the students in foster care never make it back to their original homes.

"The kids usually only have the clothes on their backs," Pasch said. "Foster families are only given a $200 clothing allowance per year."