Lura Barnes wants to teach her eight children to give back to the community, and with Easter right around the corner, the youngsters decided that no child should go without an Easter basket.

Barnes was selected as one of the Breeze Newspapers’ “People Who Made a Difference” in the local community, a special section published in December 2007. She was selected for her civic and community involvement and her determination at gaining the custody of her brother’s children after he died in 1997. The adoption was finalized this past year.

“It was a long and hard process and it took me almost six years to get them, but I got them, and now I just want to raise them right,” she said. “And they are definitely happy to be back with family.”

Last Christmas the family put an ad on the Web site craigslist, “http://www.craigslist.org”>www.craigslist.org, and asked people to donate toys and gifts that they could give to the community. The family ended up donating a “ton of stuff” to 19 kids whose families responded to the ad.

“I just want to keep teaching them to give back,” said Barnes, “so we decided to do the same thing for Easter.“

Barnes began collecting Easter baskets to use from yard sales along with other small Easter trinkets and toys. Her children pitched in and held a yard sale and car wash to raise money to purchase candy and other toys to add to the baskets.

“The kids held their own yard sale and raised $60 from that and then they held a car wash and they raised $216 from that,” said Barnes. “They held up signs they made that said ‘Kids Helping Kids.’“

The children used the money to buy candy, bubbles, small toys, plastic eggs and other Easter trinkets. They have made a total of 30 baskets which they will be bringing to local Cape schools, where they will be given out to children.

“They have been so excited to do this,” said Barnes. “In an age where most kids only think of themselves, they have really done a good job. I am so proud of them.”

The Barnes family is comprised of Donald and Lura Barnes, Lura’s mother, Anne, and children, Sheena, Lisa, Fawn, Christina, Robert, Quinn, Gator and Aleia.