Every 2 minutes in the US, a child is removed from their home by Social Services and placed in foster care.  You can imagine this is incredibly stressful, and it often occurs in an emergency situation.  The child is typically handed a trash bag and is given 10 to 15 minutes to grab any possessions they want to take with them.  What message does the trash bag send about the value of their belongings, and indeed about the value of the child? 

At the Theosophical Order of Service, we think children deserve better, so we sponsored a project at the July 2024 Summer National Convention of the Theosophical Society in America in Wheaton, IL.  We purchased 40 bright blue duffel bags from a wonderful nonprofit, Foster Love.  The duffel bags are called "Sweet Cases," and theosophists of all ages spent an evening lovingly decorating the duffel bags.  Each bag has a removable flat panel to be decorated, then re-attached by velcro to the duffel bag. Next, each bag was stuffed with some wonderful surprises for the children: teddy bears, soft cozy blankets, coloring books and crayons, and a hygiene kit, because when children are grabbing up their possessions, they're focused on toys, not toothbrushes.

When all 40 cases were beautifully decorated and the gifts were placed inside, our volunteers dropped them off at a local agency, Kids Above All, which will place the bags in the hands of children who have suffered trauma, abuse or neglect and are entering foster care or group homes.  We hope the love with which these bags were decorated will somehow come through, even just a little, to the children who receive them.

TS Groups:  Decorating Sweet Cases is an activity your local group may enjoy.  With the fabric pastels provided by Foster Love, you can decorate the bags using provided stencils or do a freehand design.  Either way, the project is a joyful, creative way for your group to build bonds and provide a genuine service for children who are hurting.  Foster Love can even match you with a nearby agency that will place the Sweet Cases in the hands of children entering foster care.  Start by exploring Foster Love's website, and contact us at info@TheoService.org with any questions.