Kids are still entering foster care with trash bags

Today I’m packing bags for Comfort Cases! They provide backpacks and duffle bags to kids entering foster care. Kids are still entering foster care with a trash bag of their belongings or nothing at all. Comfort Cases is there to support. Comfort Cases has distributed 200,000 Cases to date and their goal is to distribute 40,000 more this year. 🙌

Their packs include essentials and comfort items, and for the bags I packed, I also included letters, words of encouragement, and art from my followers. THANK YOU to everyone who sent something in!💛💛💛

Here is how YOU can help!
- Shop their Amazon wishlist or donate needed items directly
- Host a packing party - Get in touch through their website to plan a party with your friends and family
- Like, comment, save, and share to get the word out!
- Show your love on social media by following: @comfortcases

And a final thank you to the small businesses that donated some special items for the bags:
@lavenderlifecompany5771 - Lavender-filled stuffed animals
@larynnstickerco - Stickers, notepads, and keychains
@slimeecommunity - Slime
@tcbandages - Bandages in a variety of skin tones
@PlayMoshiKids A free year of Moshi
@kidfoodexplorers - Food education materials and activities

We can all do something. Thank you for supporting kids in foster care! 💛🙏

#fosterparent #fosterparenting #fostercare #childwelfare #fosterchild #fosterkid #fostering #fosterfamily #comfortcases

[brandonramirez]

As someone who's gone through foster care with 2 trash bags at 15 I absolutely love this your amazing

[alexandragrace]

Laura, I was one of those kids. I had to have a police escort to return to my parents house after they kicked me out for good as a child. The police wanted me to move quickly (even they were scared!) and they handed me trash bags to scoop up what was left of my stuff that my mom hadn’t destroyed. I completed high school while homeless and ended up s*xually assaulted multiple times because there was nowhere safe for me to live. When I went through two years of court for one of the assaults, the officers came to the place I was staying and bagged up my bedding and pjs into “evidence bags” (trash bags with a police stamp on them!). To this day, if I need an MRI or something and the nurses offer me a plastic bag to put my clothes in when I change into a surgical gown, I shudder and say no thanks, I’ll carry them. Thank you so much to you and to Rob and Comfort Care for this vital initiative.

[Aelffwynn]

I remember being at the airport once as a kid and seeing a teenager take two trashbags off the baggage carousel and leave. They were alone. I never asked anyone about it. I just realized they were in a situation where they didn't have the means or the time to buy luggage. Ever since then, donation bags like this have made a LOT of sense to me. I hope that person is doing okay. I still wish them the best.

[disgustof-riley]

AMEN Kids need a bag like this! You get attached to your bag and it becomes kinda like your home when jumping around so much.

[catieheart]

Oh I HATE the trash bag crazy! Every kid that comes to me, gets a Backpack. No matter the age. ❤ They don't need, want, or even deserve a freaking trash bag!

[eliburrowes]

My grandparents were foster parents for over 30 years. My grandma kept report cards, photos, awards, etc. When the kids they fostered had grown up, my grandparents reconnected with many of them them via facebook and delivered them pieces of their childhood. It was really sweet

[Demonslayerfan]

I have been in foster care since I was 5 I’m 14 and a year ago I got out and all my belongings were in trash bags and when I moved out I finally got my stuff in boxes I’m still under ministry but seeing how awesome this is I’m very grateful for you keep up the good work😊

[SaoiryBloom]

I am convinced this woman is a true Angel 😭😭❤.

[oAvalono]

Thank you for helping people like my friend. She was a neighbor but spent any dinner she could with my family. When I figured out they were removing her from her home, I dumped out my backpack and gave it to her to store her things safely.

When we met up years later it felt like meeting your sister again and we cried so hard. She showed me she still uses the backpack and half jokingly said it was like her personal mobile home, so I'm glad there was a small way I could help.

[notyourgrammascrafts]

I was a ward of the state from 9 to 18 this would have been nice

[elliot_rat]

my abusive dad always threatened me with "foster care would be worse". i can't help but believe him less and less when i see people as good as you

[bri]

I didn’t know this was a thing! My sister fosters, and every child that has been placed with her has showed up with plastic bags. It was so revolting to us that children were treated that way, so we always made sure that when it was time for them to leave they not only left with far more than they came with, but it was always in little suitcases, backpacks, or duffle bags. Whatever they wanted and picked out. These are human beings. They deserve so much more than to be treated like trash. I’m definitely going to look into this, because this little bit of respect can make a world of difference for these kids. I love watching their eyes light up when they’re picking out their own bags, and they know that their stuff isn’t going to be thrown in trash bags like it’s garbage. This is beautiful!

[searchingoz]

These would be great to have at the placement center. My daughter came to us in December wearing nothing but a dirty tee shirt and a diaper. Would make the first night so much easier.

[catastrophebabykaulitz]

This makes me want to cry 😢 as someone who went into foster care at 15 and had nothing but a trash bag I can’t thank you enough for the impact this will leave of some of those kids who need this now more than ever ❤️

[alley]

You are an incredible person! It's too bad you tube wasn't a thing when I was in the system. Take it from a former foster I would have been so grateful to be shown some dignity when going from place to place. When the kids on the bus found out my situation I was instantly trailer trash... carrying a trash bag full of whatever you were able to grab confirmed that in my mind. Thank you for caring. You are giving those kids a slice of personhood back.

[justicecampbell]

This is amazing! It was always so dehumanizing packing up what little stuff I did have in a black trash bag and carrying it behind me, through my social workers office, to the group home where the other kids would make fun of me, or to the new foster home where everyone would look at me like they were disgusted and sorry for me. I swear, something as simple as a backpack or duffle bag can be *life changing* for kids in foster care. Thank you for everything you do! ❤️

[Bdkdklllvv]

The fact that foster care is needed at all is so awful to think about. And then you hear how bad it apparently is most of the time. But you sound like an angel for the poor kids in that situation. I imagine you’re one of the rare ones, and thank you for doing what you do and educating us.

[hwway]

No one deserves to feel that their belongings and their valuables and their existence is unwanted garbage, thank you for doing this ❤

[shannonhensley]

My 2 sisters and I were adopted and all we had with us was a grocery bag of clothes and a mermaid plush. It didn't matter that we were in foster care and we had stuff before we were in foster care. That was all we were allowed to take with us. I'm glad there are kids getting to have things that are their own. They can hold onto.

[Uffda.]

Just your reminder that if you went through or are in foster care, you deserve this and more. You are worth more than what you’ve been dealt. I know you know that, but I also know how one can know something and not feel it, and how sometimes external validation helps. 💚