Grant Union senior Jeffrey Hensley stands with a load of blankets and stuffed animals he collected for local foster kids for his senior project. It was the first of several loads.

Local foster kids will receive comfort items such as blankets and stuffed animals through a caring senior project called Comfort for Kids.

Grant Union High School senior Jeffrey Hensley set up collection boxes at a few local businesses for a month, gathering several loads of fluffy teddy bears and plush blankets.

For Hensley, the project meant much more than fulfilling a graduation requirement. He said he’d like to make his career in child protective services.

“I just wanted the experience of helping foster kids,” he said.

Hensley gathered items from the collection boxes each Friday and delivered them to the Department of Human Services in John Day.

“They will be distributed to foster kids going to new homes, and this is going to help them because it will provide comfort for those first few nights staying in a new home,” he said. “That’s why I called it Comfort for Kids.”

He added, “My brother and two sisters and I were adopted and knowing that feeling helped to come up with the idea.”

He said the project has helped him narrow down his career path.

“Knowing that feeling of helping foster kids helped me know that it would be a good field to go into,” he said.

Heather Edgar, office specialist at the Department of Human Services in John Day, said Hensley’s service is appreciated.

“A lot of times when kids come into care, they don’t get to bring all their belongings,” she said. “It’s nice to give them something soft and snuggly to ease into the situation — just something to hold onto.”

Edgar said the office doesn’t always have the money to purchase comfort items, and sometimes the availability is limited in the area.

“It’s nice to have a supply that we can draw from,” she said.