Local organization brightens up the lives of foster children in need

Bags of Hope is an annual orphan care project where Duffle bags are presented to children in Foster Care, embroidered with their name and filled with age appropriate comfort items (i.e. Pillow Pets, journals, fleece blankets, etc…) Often times children in foster care store their personal belongings in a trash bag.

It is the goal of Bags of Hope to replace these trash bags with Duffle bags. Last year, they were able to give bags to just about 2,500 children in local Massachusetts & Rhode Island Foster Homes. Every year since they’ve started, they have at least doubled their number from the year before! Bags of Hope has partnered with over 30 local churches that have helped make this possible.

Their overall goal for 2016 was 5,000 duffle bags! The Southern New England regions they are working with include: Providence, Pawtucket, Bristol, South County, Boys Town New England, Taunton, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, Whitinsville, and new this year- Plymouth (and the Cape), Boston, and Northwest Florida!

Part of the vision of Bags of Hope is that the responsibility of caring for children in foster care does not solely rest on the social workers and the state… neither does it rest on a single organization. The responsibility belongs to all of us! That being said, the vision for the functioning part of Bags of Hope is to include as many churches, groups, and organizations as possible. When we all lift the burden together and help each other carry the load, it’s much more manageable!

To learn more about how Bags of Hope started and what they’re about, check out this video.

Want to volunteer? Click this link to find out all the different ways you can help!