A Packing Party of Essential Items for Los Angeles Area Youth in Foster Care
LOS ANGELES, June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Local and international organizations are joining forces in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 19 to support local youth in foster care. At a "packing party," volunteers will fill 500 backpacks and duffel bags with essential items to be given to local organizations to distribute to youth in need.
"We need more people to look into the opportunities to provide positive support by either volunteering or becoming foster parents to these young people," states Rabbi Susan Silverman, founder and Executive Director of Second Nurture. "Today's event is an important stepping-stone to build awareness and support the needs of the thousands of youth in foster care."
Nearly 100 youth per day are put in foster care in the state of California. There are currently more than 33,000 youth in foster care in Los Angeles County. They often face abuse, homelessness and emotional distress.
Award-winning actress Tiffany Haddish founded She Ready Foundation because of her experiences as a youth in foster care, "packing her belongings in garbage bags and feeling like the world had forgotten her." She Ready Executive Director, Dr. Thyonne Gordon is excited about the collaboration, "When we join forces, we have greater impact and youth feel loved and know they are not forgotten. Today's event shows how each person can help and is one more step towards eliminating trash bags for our treasured children."
The event is titled, "Treasures Not Trash". Ten years ago, Rob Scheer founded Comfort Cases to promote hope and dignity to youth in foster care – particularly by working to end the policy of giving trash bags to these youth when moving them to and from foster care facilities. Rob was given a trash bag for his belongings when he "aged out" of his foster home, becoming homeless at 18. When Rob's children first arrived at his door, they had the very same trash bags. This practice must come to an end.
250 "Comfort Cases" (backpacks) and 250 "Comfort XLs" (duffel bags) will be packed between 2:30-4:00pm at Temple Israel Los Angeles: 7300 Hollywood Boulevard. They will be distributed to local foster care organizations including: Project Joy, LADCFS, Penny Lane Centers, LA County Sheriff's Department, Positive Results Center, Sanctuary of Hope, Children Youth & Family Collaborative
In each of the comfort cases and XLs, youth will find: new pajamas, new blanket, hygiene kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, etc.), a "stuffy" and a new book. Scheer explains: "To have your own shampoo, bar of soap and toothpaste – or a new stuffed toy and book, not a hand-me-down, is so powerful and meaningful to these children. It gives them value and dignity, and isn't that something we all, as good humans, should expect?"
The Book Foundation will be providing the books included. They are all new, age-appropriate books surely to be embraced by these youth. "Children growing up in homes with no books are 'on average' three years behind children in homes with lots of books," states The Book Foundation founder Ruth Stalford. "And in low-income areas the ratio of books to children is 1 to 300. Literacy is the key to opening doors and creating opportunity."
Details of "Treasures Not Trash" Packing Party:
When: Sunday, June 19 / 2:30-4:30pm
Where: Temple Israel Los Angeles: 7300 Hollywood Boulevard
Media Contact:
David Thalberg
[email protected]
917.952.2580
About She Ready Foundation
She Ready Foundation is the creation of comedienne/actress Tiffany Haddish and serves as the voice of foster children suffering in silence. The mission is to empower, support and encourage children living in the foster care system. Adapting the belief of its' founder that, "Every child who is removed from their parents deserves to have a suitcase, a safe place to lay their head, and a platform to follow their dreams," the She Ready Foundation aspires to help make this happen through collaborative partnerships.
About Second Nurture
Second Nurture (2N) partners with communities to help them prioritize fostering among their member families. Families who foster, adopt, or are just exploring the possibility, form a cohort, led by a Family Support Specialist, in which they provide mutual support to one another. Because these cohorts emerge from their home communities, the families have organic networks of support from the wider membership as well as external agencies, all of which 2N helps to cultivate.
About Comfort Cases
Comfort Cases is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to inspire communities to bring dignity and hope to youth in foster care. Founded in 2013, Comfort Cases has distributed more than 165,000 Comfort Cases and Comfort XL duffel bags to children in the foster care system in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.
In 2021, Comfort Cases was given a Global Giving All-Star designation, meaning good reporting, phenomenal mission, and great response time. Comfort Cases is also a gold-level GuideStar participant, demonstrating commitment to transparency.
Having grown up in foster care, Rob Scheer, the CEO of Comfort Cases travels the country to share his story, advocating for youth and sharing his mission. Rob and his husband Reece have adopted five children who were in the foster care system. Rob's memoir, A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child at a Time, was published in 2018. Rob also hosts Fostering Change, a weekly audio and video podcast ranked as the #1 podcast with a focus on foster care and adoption. For more information about Comfort Cases, please visit: http://www.comfortcases.org.
About The Book Foundation
The Book Foundation a program of Make Good, Inc was launched in 2014 by former Hollywood producer and social entrepreneur, Ruth Stalford. To create a more equitable society, the idea was simple; get new books into the hands of children in underserved areas.
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Media Contact
David Thalberg, Stryker-Munley Group, 1 9179522580, [email protected]
SOURCE Comfort Cases
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