Local toy stores will host benefit

For years, the Wonder Works toy store has brought smiles to the faces of Lowcountry children.

So when owner Christine Osborne was approached by a child who wanted to give back, she couldn't say no.

The next thing she knew, Kids With a Cause was born.

The event, which will be held Saturday at Osborne's stores in West Ashley and Mount Pleasant, includes two preteens, a set of sisters and a young boy band.

"We didn't plan any of it," Osborne says. "It just happened."

The youngsters will be hawking their wares, performing and collecting donations for their causes.

The event includes:

--Kelsey Bianco, 11, of Sullivan's Island, who collects clothes and shoes for the students at Mary Ford Elementary through a project called Kelsey's Closet. The clothes are stored at the school for parents to find necessities for their children.

--Haley Schmidt, 9, designer of HaleyBop clothing. The Mount Pleasant youngster will be selling her designer T-shirts with a portion of the proceeds going to Art With a Heart for Children, a Jacksonville, Fla., based nonprofit that provides fine arts opportunities for patients at Wolfson Children's Hospital and Nemours Children's Clinic. Haley also sells her products at www.shophaleybop.com.

--The Blamtastic sisters, Lily and Melanie Sandler of Alpharetta, Ga., makers of

Blamtastic lip balms, will offer their products, with part of the proceeds going to the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, which provides college grants and financial assistance to surviving children and spouses of U.S. military members who died in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. The girls also sell their goods at www.blamtastic.com.

--The 3 Dudes, the Ploch brothers -- Sam, 8, and 10-year-old brothers Jack and Roger -- who will be playing and selling CDs to raise money for Charleston Collegiate School, the private Johns Island school they attend. The boys have played several events in the Lowcountry, including a fundraiser for Art With a Heart to raise money for a man with brain cancer.

In addition, shoppers are asked to bring a new toy to donate to Happy Wheels, a nonprofit outreach at the Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital that provides toys and books to patients.

"These kids have huge hearts and are doing all of this themselves, even handing out fliers at their schools," Osborne says. "I am in awe of them."

If you go

What: Kids with a Cause.

Where: Wonder Works locations.

When: Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the St. Andrews Shopping Center, West Ashley; 2:30-5:30 p.m. at Mount Pleasant-Belle Hall Shopping Center.

For more information, visit wonderworkscharleston.com or call 573-9300 or 849-6757.

Brenda Rindge can be reached at 937-5713 or brindge@postandcourier.com.