We do take new suitcases for kids in foster care
Several national news stories and Facebook posts recently have talked about the need for luggage for kids in foster care.
It’s true – luggage is a great thing for us to have. We like to keep a few pieces on hand for when kids transition to a new placement, go to college or age out of the system.
Unfortunately, we can’t take used luggage. We held a Cases for Love luggage drive several years ago that brought in about 10,000 pieces – a fantastic response from the community. But many of the suitcases were dirty, broken and worn well beyond something we could give to one of our kids. Some of the luggage had mice and bugs, which caused problems at our office.
We learned how different everyone’s definition of “nearly new” is. That’s why we only take new donations now.
Thank you for looking out for the kids in care and their needs. If you have any more questions, please feel free to email Jane Prendergast, prendj@jfs.hamilton-co.org.