Many foster children are supplied with garbage bags, for transporting their personal belongings to and from foster homes.
Social workers do this just to make the job quicker and easier... but what kind of a message does this send to a child? Does it not say, "your belongings are not worth much"?
Might a child also suffer feelings of personal worthlessness - "my stuff is worthless, and so am I"?
A group of friends and I would like to address this issue. We are working on our first dufflebag drive, to support our local foster care programs. The first drive will conclude just before the new school year (August 2008). At that time, we will decide whether to continue our efforts as an ongoing project.
This wish does not ask for any dollar amount. What I am truly wishing for is moral support, and some great ideas from the GoN community. If you have ever worked on a project like this before (especially from the ground up) I'd really like to hear from you. Please vote, and post your comments below.
Thanks for considering my wish! (more) 
Needy Wish
Comments
Great wish.
Very worthwhile wish. You have my 5 and best of luck.
The most generous wish ! *****
I sincerely hope this wish comes to fruition.
good luck
good luck
good luck
wtg heres my 65 and i may starta dufflebag campaign in my area/.
PM me, and let's chat.
A very deserving wish. Good luck and God bless.
love nora
This is probably the most caring, meaningful wish I have come across so far. I wish you so much luck with this project! Kids need to feel like they are worth more than anything else in this world, because they are =)
:-)
I love this wish, I would also like to help contacting compaines to see if we could get some bags or small items to put inside of them shipped to you. If you would like help of that kind, I would like to help you and justacaregiver out in this work. OM me the info if you like.
(If I overstepped my bounds, I am sorry)
Jenn
Thanks for your caring heart!! :-)
Edited on: Mar 6, 2008 09:32 am
Be strong and have lots of faith :) May this wish and all your wishes come true :) 5*****
~*~Hugs~*~
Please PM me the proposed name of your Foundation and a shipping address. I would be happy to write letter to manufactures of duffle bags and members in our churches association to try to gather donators of dufflebags for these kids. That's one thing I am good at, getting donations for kids causes! Many manufacturers will donate bags, backpacks, hats, etc. with a small company logo on them.
Another idea is to have a personal gift for each dufflebag, doesn't have to be much, even dollar general items for their gender and age group.
Having been in foster care for a short period as a preteen, I know that everything we do for kids pays off for all of us in the longrun. I went into care with one change of clothes, in a brown paper bag . My caseworker, presented me with a book "The Prophet", it made me feel special at the lowest point in my young life.
Anything I can do to help, just let me know.
All of these suggestions are marvellous! I would love to take you up on this, and really partner with you, every step of the way. This is all new to me. All my daughter & I have is a heart for the project, and a lot of enthusiasm & energy, but no practical experience (though I'm definitely learning a lot along the way!).
I have sent you a PM with my contact info.
THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart. Support like this makes me feel like I'm on the right track. I don't mind putting myself out there to try to get something done, if there are others who will help to keep it going.
This is a highly needed organization. You get my 5..and you should have put a dollar amount to help fund these....
I thought that this time around, perhaps just asking for moral support, practical suggestions and good, stimulating dialogue would be a good way to go this time. The drive will continue for many more months, however, so there will be plenty of opportunities for wishes with dollar amounts.
In fact, I only decided to run this wish for the 2nd week in a row, because one GoN member PM'd me and *really* encouraged me to do it!!!! (Bless you, darlin' - you know who you are!!)
Speaking of funding, anyone here have experiences with online donation sites, like ChipIn? Would you recommend using them?
Thanks, michie. I will keep you posted!
{{{ hugs }}}
you have my five, can i have yours
Thats such a wonderful thing to do for others good luck with your mission. You know where I am if you need moral support.