Clayton brother, sister collect blankets for families in need

CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- A brother and sister in Clayton are teaming up to make a difference for those in need.

Avery Hile and her older brother Andrew are collecting blankets to give to the Clayton Police Department.

At the end of the month, the department is donating them to Hope Box, a local non-profit that collects new and gently-used baby clothing, sorts them into boys and girls clothes and creates a "Hope Box." They then distribute the boxes through social workers in hospitals, shelters and clinics.

"Avery has a habit of hugging every police officer she sees," said Elizabeth Hile, the grandmother of the two. "We saw a lot of Clayton police officers last week and they mentioned to her that the Clayton police department is doing a blankets for babies and kids so Avery took the idea and ran with it."

Their goal was 30 but after a Facebook Live with the owner of their martial arts studio in Clayton, they ended up with 150 blankets and they're hoping to bring more in when they drop off the rest off next week.

"Martial arts is great for teaching kids how to do physical activity but we need to take it further and make sure kids can stand tall, look kids in the eye, speak clearly and have good confidence," said Scot Schwichow, the owner of Revolution Modern Martial Arts.

Elizabeth said they have been getting donations from all over since the Facebook Live including some from Wal-Mart.

"The blankets are coming from everywhere-- from Florida, from their cousins, from their aunts and uncles and from their great-grandmother," said Hile. "It gets you a little bit choked up. You get filled with pride because they are four and six and understand the fact that people are in need."

"It just shows respect," said Andrew.

Meantime his sister Avery said, "Instead of buying cookies, you can buy a $2.50 blanket."