For foster children, jumping from one temporary home to the next can feel confusing and intimidating. But thanks to non-profit organization Together We Rise, 50,000 kids in the foster care system will be receiving "Sweet Cases" this year that make moving from home to home a little less scary.
Including teddy bears, blankets, crayons, coloring books and hygiene kits, the Sweet Cases are meant to replace the two trash bags typically giving to foster children to transport their belongings. The blue duffel bags decorated by volunteers and are meant to make the transition between houses easier for children and to help them feel at home no matter where they go.
"When children are entering foster care or transitioning between homes, they are usually given two trash bags to put their belongings in," Emmalee Jordan, the organization's community manager, told ABC News. "Often times, children are removed from homes very quickly and this is all that social workers have on hand. Through these transitions, children often lose many of their personal belongings."
These new duffel bags also play an important emotional role in the lives of foster children. "The bags are important because they meet both the physical and emotional needs of children in foster care," Jordan said. "Emotionally, the bags and the items inside provide comfort and a sense of stability to children going through a time of great instability and insecurity. The way the bags are decorated and filled are meant to portray hope to the children that are receiving them and instill in them a sense that they are valued."
According to the Together We Rise website, 1,200 children enter the foster care system in the United States every day. And for the children receiving these bags, something so simple seems to have already made a huge difference. "The children are very excited when they receive their own bag, and some of them even refer to the bags as presents," Jordan told ABC News. "We have an entire wall in our office filled with thank you's that we have received from children who have been given Sweet Cases."
For more information about how to give a child in your area a Sweet Case, visit the Together We Rise website here.