TFG Charity of the Month

PERSONAL EFFECTS
MY STUFF BAGS FOUNDATION DELIVERS COMFORT
AND HOPE TO NEGLECTED CHILDREN NATIONWIDE

Each year in America, more than 300,000 children enter into foster homes and crisis centers—most with
nothing more than the clothes they're wearing at the time. “There is enormous transition in the foster
care system with children entering it, exiting it and frequently moving from placement to placement within
it. The fact that these kids have nothing of their own adds yet another layer of instability in their lives,”
says Janeen Holmes, president, CEO and co-founder of the My Stuff Bags Foundation, a non-profit that
provides underprivileged children with a clean, new My Stuff duffel bag. The sacks contain a variety of
essential items they will need and can call their own. “This is where My Stuff Bags provides an immediate, positive and very tangible response to a deep-rooted psychological problem by offering comfort and hope and restoring a degree of dignity to kids who are coping with a very vulnerable and uncertain time in their lives,” Holmes adds.

My Stuff Bags Foundation, the only organization providing badly-needed new personal belongings to rescued children across America consistently and on a large-scale basis, has donated bags to more than 320,000 children in 49 states since its inception in 1998. “The majority of rescued children have suffered some form of general or severe neglect by parents whose problems can include such serious issues as mental illness, alcohol abuse, drug addiction and poverty. Most other children are rescued from dire situations of abuse, including physical, sexual or mental abuse by parents and/or other family members. Some rescues occur when children have been living in dangerous home meth labs or alone due to the death of a parent or guardian or abandonment by their primary caretakers. Still other children lose all their personal possessions when their homes are destroyed in natural disasters, such as hurricanes, fires and earthquakes,” Holmes tells us. She points out that despite their cause for removal or displacement, these children are usually unable to gather any personal possessions upon leaving and, in the case of meth lab rescues, are forbidden from taking anything due to toxic contamination.

Holmes says that “while the in-take agencies are able to shelter and feed the children, they lack the resources to consistently provide such comforting childhood essentials as a blanket, teddy bear, clothing or even a small piece of luggage for children to carry what little belongings they might gather as they transition into—and out of—foster homes and other residential centers. Every child, regardless of his My Stuff Bag photo

or her circumstances deserves to have his or her own stuff, hence the name My Stuff Bags.”

My Stuff Bags contain a variety of brand new items for children of all ages—from newborns to teenagers—including toys, games, clothing, crayons and coloring books, school supplies, books, a stuffed animal, and most importantly, a soft, cuddly handmade security blanket. Each My Stuff Bag also has a bright red toiletry bag containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash and a hairbrush or a comb. “The items in a My Stuff Bag help improve the quality of rescued children’s lives by addressing their immediate physical and emotional needs. They also help to ease the transition into a strange new place by providing them with something to do, something to hold on to and something to call their own at a particularly traumatic, confusing and even fearful time in their lives. Further, because almost all of the items in a My Stuff Bag are donated, and the bags are filled by volunteers, the children learn that lots of people care about them, which helps their delicate self-esteem in a positive, tangible way,” Holmes tells us.

With a short-term goal of increasing the number of bags delivered each year, the foundation currently donates to nonprofit organizations that serve abused and neglected children, including youth and family services groups, child advocacy centers, Christian, Jewish, African American, Native American and Latino children’s agencies, domestic violence centers, state and local departments of children and family services, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) groups, crisis shelters, foster care agencies, police and fire stations and drug enforcement agencies. Holmes says that the foundation endeavors to place a My Stuff Bag “into the hands of every child who needs one,” sadly adding “the demand continues each and every year.”

How can you help?
Here's how Holmes says you can make My Stuff Bags your bag.

Volunteer. “Almost every single week of the year, the My Stuff Bags Foundation conducts one of its unique Stuff-a-thon events where individuals, school groups, community organizations and other volunteers gather at the Volunteer Center to prepare and stuff My Stuff Bags. The foundation also throws one or two fundraising events during the year.”

Donate. “We need cash donations to purchase the My Stuff duffels, toiletries and toiletry bags, fleece for making blankets, and, of course, for the costs of shipping the bags. Donations can be sent by mail or online. Call us at 866 3MY-STUFF to process a credit card donation, set up a monthly donation or to discuss gifts of stocks or other investments.

Drive. “We also need donations of new items for boys and girl of all ages. Individuals, schools and other groups and organizations can hold collection drives. Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers can donate discontinued items, over runs and irregulars. Items must be new, non-violent, non-edible and non-denominational.”

Stuff. “Readers in the Southern California area can help prepare and stuff bags at our Volunteer Center in Westlake Village. Simply call to request a volunteer package.”

To make a donation, set up a drive, attend a fundraiser, stuff bags and/or for more information, go to www.mystuffbags.org.

READ ALL ABOUT IT
Click here to read some letters from people who have been helped by My Stuff Bags.


Child with rescue personnel receives bag	Girl at center receiving My Stuff Bag

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