Benefiting thousands of foster care kids in 30 states.
Published: August 29, 2024
By: Bob Stephens, Focus on the Family
Imagine a scared and lonely child, forced to move away from a foster home to yet another temporary living situation with a family they don’t know. As this child gathers the few coveted possessions they own, they have nothing to carry them in but a plastic garbage bag.
It’s a common scenario. Focus on the Family is working to change that while helping restore dignity and self-respect to thousands of children and youth who are in the foster care system.
Focus’ Wait No More program is designed to raise adoption awareness and recruit parents for children and youth in the U.S. foster care system.
The Suitcase Bundle Program has already benefited thousands of foster care kids in 30 states. Since its inception in 2019, Focus on the Family has distributed 37,929 Suitcase Bundles—which include the 30-inch rolling duffle bag suitcase, a Bible, teddy bear and handwritten note reminding each child how important they are and how much they are loved. In fiscal year 2023, we distributed 9,596 bundles in 16 states.
Now, the goals are higher. In the next three years, we plan to distribute at least 110,000 Suitcase Bundles to children in foster care. That’s approximately the number of kids now hoping to be adopted.
We have hundreds of collaborators that assist with our program and countless testimonials of how the bundle program has helped kids. One of them wrote to say a male teenager arrived “… with all his possessions stuffed in a trash bag and two plastic grocery bags.” When that teenager was accepted into a foster home and was leaving the Christian nonprofit that houses kids in the system, he was presented with a “Suitcase Bundle” and said he “couldn’t believe how nice the bags were.”
All of these are new bags, straight off the store shelf with the price tag attached. That lets the kids know they are not being given yet another hand-me-down, but a new suitcase they can take pride in—rather than being ashamed of having to use a trash bag for their belongings.
In another testimonial, resulting from an emotional interaction at one of our bundle program distribution events, one of our collaborators wrote to tell of another male teenager who was staring at the display. A “before” sign showed a picture of a child with a trash bag. The “after” sign showed the suitcase bundle.
He told us that he was currently a child in foster care and thanked us for having the picture of the trash bag, the testimonial noted. He said that it was such a true representation of what happens. He also added that sometimes it was just what he could fit in his pockets as he transitioned from home to home. It was such a significant moment … knowing the impact of what we are doing through our suitcase bundle program.
Even more, the rolling duffle bag represents going on a trip, having an adventure, rather than the negativity of being shuffled from one foster family to another.
Focus’ Wait No More program, which began in 2006, has helped lead nearly 5,000 families to initiate the process of foster care, adoption from foster care, or supporting families that do. We’ve conducted 52 Wait No More events in 23 states.
A family who has three adopted children and two from foster care in their home shared this with the Focus staff: “We had one child who just came to us with his stuff in a garbage bag. He’s refusing to move out of his garbage bag, and we’re hoping these (duffle) bags will help us get him to move to a more permanent situation for his stuff until he trusts us enough to move it into his room. We thank you guys for all of this. It’s been great!”
Our proposed budget to reach those 110,000 children over the next three years is more than $6 million—but there is no price too high if it helps a single child and makes them feel better about themself.
At our Wait No More event two years ago in Birmingham, Alabama, a family approached the booth of one of our collaborators who was helping disperse suitcases Focus staff brought to the event. That family had adopted an 11-year-old boy from foster care a month earlier and said he “was thrilled” to receive the suitcase bundle.
His parents wept as they shared with the Wait No More team that they had been considering ending their foster care journey because they had adopted, said the letter from Focus’ collaborator. But after attending the event, they decided to continue fostering because they know there are more children they can impact.
For more information on the program,visit waitnomore.org.