Imagine a scared and lonely child, forced to move away from their foster home and toward yet another temporary living situation. And as they prepare to leave and gather their most coveted possessions, all they have to put those in is a trash bag.
It’s a common scenario. But Focus on the Family is working to change that while helping restore dignity and self-respect to children and youth who are in the foster care system.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the nation’s fifth most populated state, is among the eastern and midwestern states targeted for 2025 as Focus’ program seeks to improve and enrich the lives of children in big cities and small.
We have hundreds of collaborators that assist with our program and countless testimonials of how the bundle program has helped kids. One of them wrote to say a male teenager arrived “… with all his possessions stuffed in a trash bag and two plastic grocery bags.” When that teenager was accepted into a foster home and was leaving the Christian nonprofit that houses kids in the system, he was presented with a bundle and “couldn’t believe how nice the bags were.”
These are new bags, just off the shelf, with the price tag still attached. That lets the kids know they are not being gifted another hand-me-down, but a new suitcase they can take pride in—rather than being ashamed of having to use a trash bag for their belongings.
In another testimonial, resulting from an emotional interaction at one of our bundle program distribution events, one of our collaborators wrote to tell of another male teenager who was staring at the display. A “before” sign showed a picture of a child with a trash bag. The “after” sign showed the suitcase bundle.
“He told us that he was currently a child in foster care and thanked us for having the picture of the trash bag,” the testimonial noted. “He said that it was such a true representation of what happens. He also added that sometimes it was just what he could fit in his pockets as he transitioned from home to home. It was such a significant moment … knowing the impact of what we are doing through our suitcase bundle program.”
Even more, the rolling duffle bag represents going on a trip, having an adventure, rather than the negativity of being shuffled from one home to another.
With November being National Adoption Month — and Nov. 18 designated as National Adoption Day — Focus on the Family’s Robyn Chambers, Vice President of Advocacy for Children, helps raise awareness.
From the professional/ministry perspective, Robyn has helped leads Focus on the Family through the national impact it has made with its Wait No More program. That effort is designed to raise adoption awareness and recruit parents for children and youth in the U.S. foster care system.
She has also helped create our Suitcase Bundle Program, which has already benefited thousands of foster care kids in 27 states. Since its inception in 2019, Focus has distributed 25,829 Suitcase Bundles—which include the 30-inch rolling duffle bag suitcase, a Bible, teddy bear and handwritten note reminding each child how important they are and how much they are loved. In fiscal year 2023, we distributed 9,596 bundles in 16 states.
Now, the goals are higher. In the next three years, we plan to distribute at least 110,000 Suitcase Bundles to children in foster care. That’s approximately the number of kids now hoping to be adopted. The three most populated states—California, Texas and Florida—will see more than 36,000 bundles dispersed in 2024.
Focus’ Wait No More program, which began in 2006, has helped lead nearly 5,000 families to initiate the process of foster care, adoption from foster care or supporting families that do. We’ve conducted 52 Wait No More events in 23 states.
A family who has three adopted children and two from foster care in their home shared this with Focus staff: “We had one child who just came to us with his stuff in a garbage bag. He’s refusing to move out of his garbage bag and we’re hoping these (duffle) bags will help us get him to move to a more permanent situation for his stuff until he trusts us enough to move it into his room. We thank you guys for all of this. It’s been great!”
Our proposed budget to reach those 110,000 children over the next three years is more than $6 million—but there is no price too high if it helps a single child and makes them feel better about themself.
At our Wait No More event 15 months ago in Birmingham, Alabama, a family approached the booth of one of our collaborators who was helping disperse suitcases Focus staff brought to the event. The 11-year-old boy, who’d been adopted from foster care a month earlier, “was thrilled” our collaborators wrote to receive the bundle. “His parents wept as they shared with the Wait No More team that they had been considering ending their foster care journey because they had adopted. But after attending the event, they decided to continue fostering because they know there are more children they can impact.
And that’s the point. We can all make a difference in the lives of children in need during this month set aside to raise awareness of their plight.
By Bob Stephens
