“Suitcases 4 Kids” aims to give foster kids their own bags

Imagine only having a garbage bag to carry around all of your belongings. For kids in the foster care system, it’s a reality.

To help get those kids their own bag like a suitcase or a backpack, the Portneuf Rotary Club and United Way are teaming up to bring “Suitcases 4 Kids” to southeast Idaho. All week they’ll be collecting bags at 15 drop-off locations all over the region.

Sarah O’Banion, the director for the Family Services Alliance, has worked a lot with foster kids who’ve gone through child abuse. In many cases, she has seen these kids and their families have to leave a situation with close to nothing.

O’Banion knows the value a bag can have.

“It increases their self-esteem and helps them to understand their meaning in their community,” she said.

Kim Carlino is the project’s team leader and the Portneuf Rotary Club’s service project chief. When she learned there were around 120 foster kids in the region she felt the need to get them their own belongings.

“We refuse to stand by and just let this child have nothing but a trash bag,” Carlino said. “We’re giving them a suitcase, a duffel bag, a backpack, or even a diaper bag to call their own.”

Donated bags will also be matched with an age appropriate book so the kids can have something else to call their own.

Here’s a link to the drop-off locations.

You can also find more information about the Portneuf Rotary Club, United Way and the Family Services Alliance.