Following is a guest post by Rich Mountain of Suitcases 4 Kids which helps foster kids.  He is a friend who’s son is the same age as my son Max.  We are all looking to get the word out about the Suitcases 4 Kids goal.  Connect with them, get on their list, donate suitcases and money, or help out.  Everyone is needed.

Suitcases 4 Kids held their pilot program event on Saturday, June 13, covering the Haverhill Massachusetts Department of Social Services (DSS) district.  People lined up to give us their new or slightly used suitcases, backpacks, and duffel bags.

Our organization was formed to provide suitcases to kids who are moving through the foster care system.  On average each child moves 3 to 4 times but I have met a few that have gone through 14 to 20 different homes, group programs, and hospitals.  These kids only have trash bags with which to carry their belongings.

“We want to make this project special for the children. The message we hope to send is ‘You are important. You are valuable.’ We believe that the love, care, and commitment from this Haverhill area project will light a fire of inspiration and spread Suitcases for Kids across Massachusetts and beyond.” said Donna White, co-chairwoman of Suitcases for Kids, and a mother of two.

There are 700 children in the Haverhill system.  Our goal was to bring in 1000 suitcases to make sure we covered all of them.

I have been involved with the program almost since its inception a few weeks ago.  My primary duties have been to develop and maintain its website.  I also do some of the research.  It is our awesome team that gets the word out about the kids and the need for suitcases.

I mentioned the drive for suitcases to my 8 year old son.  He is a hoarder from way back.  He still has his first pair of shoes.  Like his dad he has never found a book that he doesn’t like to squirrel away.  To even suggest getting rid of something will cause him to run kicking and screaming from the room…just like his dad.

But today was different.  Just the mention of foster care kids and suitcases had him scrambling for whatever he could find.  You see, several of these kids are his friends and the idea of them being without was enough for to get him moving.  In the end he came up with a suitcase, a backpack, and a duffel bag.

He didn’t just hand me his finds; he insisted that I drive him to one of the drop off sites so that he could contribute.  He chose the Triton High School location in Byfield Massachusetts hoping that he could spend some time with the co-chairman Ron Nickerson’s boys.  And yes they were there but when he saw all the suitcases and the work that needed to be done he pitched right in.  And rather than stand around and wait until he was done, dad joined in too.

There were many wonderful people working along side of us inspecting, cleaning, and stacking the donations.  At the end of the day there were still more waiting to be processed.  At our location we filled one trailer to overflowing.  Luckily we had a truck in reserve which took not only the extras  but also the unfinished ones and the trash.

By Sunday we realized we had received over 1300 suitcases, backpacks, and duffel bags and more are still coming in.  The response from the community has been overwhelming.  I can understand it seeing how my son, the hoarder, reacted.

But we aren’t finished.  Yes, there is still the job of distributing the suitcases to the Haverhill DSS area, but there is also the state of Massachusetts, New England, the East Coast, and, and, and….  With everyone’s help we can provide suitcases to all the foster care kids in the United States.

And when my son and I went home I was ready for a nap but that didn’t happen.  For the rest of the day he worked on his bedroom either throwing away or giving away most of the stuff he had piled up in there.  He now has a bedroom and closet!!

When you give from the heart wonderful things can happen.