Officials with the Celebration Foundation have announced they are helping to tackle the problems facing 1,200 children in Osceola County living in hotels and motels as a result of homelessness brought on by the recession.

The combined effort with the Osceola County School District, Celebration Town Hall, area churches, civic and service groups and fellow students is helping make life a little easier for these children, foundation spokeswoman Debie McDonald stated in a press release.

The Celebration Foundation announcement came after the broadcast on Sunday, March 6, of a CBS 60 Minutes segment called “The Hard Times Generation,” which looked at the problem of children growing up in hotels and motels in Osceola and Seminole counties.

Identified by the School District as “families in transition,” these children range from those living in tents, to shelters, to shared housing, or most commonly, the hotels that dot U.S. Highway 192. Many parents have lost their homes due to the downturn in the economy and cannot afford the first and last month’s rent and security deposit required for area apartments, so moving into a hotel or motel room has become an all-too typical solution. School buses stop at these lodging facilities and transport the students to school.

The highest concentration of homeless high school students is at Celebration High School, and the numbers are expected to triple by August. Celebration resident Risa Wight is spearheading the response effort.

“In Osceola County, where a school uniform is required, these children tend to blend in with everyone else, which is ideal. We want to keep it that way. But the School District can only provide each of these children with two shirts, but when laundry facilities are not present, two is not enough. Our goal is to make sure each child has five shirts, a belt and two pairs of pants,” Wight stated.

The Celebration Foundation is raising money and collecting uniforms so that these children can continue to look like their peers, according to Wight.

In addition, the group is working on a food drive, and working with Orlando-based Clean The World to provide personal hygiene products to the most needy children.

“The students at Celebration High School have been wonderful. They have donated so much clothing of their own – gently used uniforms they have outgrown or don’t wear, and the student Interact Club has formed a clothing closet where anyone in need can get clothing, soap, shampoos and more,” Wight stated. “This is another example where the town has really pulled together. The residents of Celebration are turning this sad plight into a success story.”

The Celebration Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization established in March 1996 to promote and conduct community-building activities in Celebration.