The Carrington and Friends Foundation is the umbrella under which The Carrington A. Craig Scholarship Fund and Carrington & Friends Annual Toy Drive and Caroling/Ugly Sweater Event sit, all of which were named for its' founder Lady Carrington Craig.  Lady Carrington is a 16-year old Carmel, Indiana high school student who December 2023 hosted her 11th annual Carrington & Friends Toy Drive for Riley Hospital North - Carmel, IN, and Coburn Place (a domestic violence family apartment complex).  This drive supports children who cannot spend the holidays at home with their families and children whose families have survived domestic violence. You read correctly….11 YEARS!!! Lady Carrington was only 4 years-old when she started this initiative after seeing a child in the hospital during the holidays. Lady Carrington inquired whether the child would receive gifts from Santa. Dissatisfied with the response that the child quite possibly could not receive any toys, Lady Carrington's solution was to ask all of the friends and family who were gathering to celebrate the holiday season at her home, to bring one toy per family for donations to children in the local hospital who would not be home for Christmas. Lady Carrington delivered the toys on Christmas Eve and the rest is history. This initiative has grown exponentially with each year.  In 2019, Lady Carrington was able to donate so many toys that no child at Riley Hospital went without!!! Contributing sponsors have included: Massage Heights, Hoi Tea Toi Tea, McNamara Florist, Jason’s Deli, 95.5 FM, Greater Hope Christian Church - Phoenix, AZ, New Haven MBC, and Appreciate You Salon. Lady Carrington's goal is to provide at least 20,000 toys and at least $5000 in scholarships each year to children.

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Lady Carrington has such a big heart and what began as a simple desire to brighten the holiday of a sick child, has grown to a 501(c)3 foundation. In the fall of 2019, Lady Carrington embarked on her first Lady Carrington A. Craig Scholarship Fund, and hosted her first fundraising event to benefit the scholarship November 3rd, 2019 at Tony's of Indianapolis.  While she did not make the targeted amount of funds needed, Lady Carrington has not given up on her dream of providing scholarship awards which will benefit middle school students who like Lady Carrington were born prematurely and have an interest in STEM/STEAM to assist with costs associated with camps or STEM activities enrollment. In the not so distant future, Lady Carrington aspires to add winter gear (i.e., coats, hats and gloves) to her philanthropy and a scholarship for young ladies who have an interest in race car driving. Lady Carrington has been honored to have been featured in Carmel Magazine - Carmel, IN, CanvasRebel Magazine - Los Angeles, CA, Girl Scouts of Central Indiana Magazine - Indiana; and has received “The Bronze Award” from the Girl Scouts of the USA for her foundations great work, a commendation from the mayor of Carmel, IN as well as Riley Hospital for Children, accolades from the University of Indianapolis for her exceptional accomplishments and leadership in the college's summer engineering program, and Lady Carrington has appeared on local Indianapolis television and radio stations.

Born at only 26 weeks and 3 days gestation at what was then Clarion North Hospital in 2008, Lady Carrington has beaten all of the odds.  Weighing only 1lb and 11ozs at birth, Lady Carrington was blessed to never have any complications, no antibiotics and no surgeries. As you can see in the photos, unless you know her story, you’d never know how she fought as a baby to become the amazing young lady she is today. Lady Carrington is an avid tennis and volleyball player, she sings and plays the saxophone, piano and guitar and is an active member of Greater Hope Christian Church. In her short time on this earth, Lady Carrington has been afforded great experiences to be in the presence of amazing and influential individuals.  From being asked on stage to perform along side the late Queen of Soul Ms. Aretha Franklin, to being able to chat with Reverend Jesse Jackson, Lady Carrington’s future is guaranteed to be brighter than any of us can fathom. She is already making preparations to attend Howard University - Washington, D.C. or North Carolina A&T - Greensboro, NC in the fall of 2026 where she will study Engineering and minor in performing arts. With all of the bad news we are seeing and experiencing daily, Lady Carrington, her story, and her philanthropy are without question a breath of fresh air. 

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We sincerely hope you will join the initiatives put forth by Lady Carrington A. Craig and would love for you to consider volunteering your time and talents to further each cause.  Click the "get involved" link for volunteer opportunities or the "donate" link to lend your monetary support to these worthy causes.  

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