NEWSMeet Forever Kids: Making an Impact on Foster Children One Suitcase at a Time
Jan. 3 2025, Published 1:02 a.m. ET
In partnerships with businesses looking to enhance the lives of foster children, Forever Kids is helping revolutionize foster child support. Unfortunately, most foster children in the U.S. are shuffled from home to home with nothing more than a trash bag to pack their belongings in. Through its suitcase program, it replaces trash bags with dignity. The program has inspired community involvement and corporate responsibility while filling a desperate need for foster children.
The transformational impact of Forever Kids serves as a model for community and corporate partnerships. The positive initiative serves as a model for making a difference in people’s lives and the effectiveness of responsible corporate alliances. The program not only inspires children but also gives them a sense of worth and belonging.
The Suitcase Program
Foster children face numerous challenges, including frequently relocating, as often as 25 times throughout their childhoods. Often, these children only own a trash bag to carry their meager belongings. Forever Kids has implemented a humanitarian solution to replace trash bags with high-quality suitcases filled with essentials, character-building materials, and notes of encouragement.
“The suitcases’ effect on the foster children is palpable,” said Paul Scheumack, board member of Forever Kids. “They give hope to children who desperately need to feel valued and cared for. The initiative restores their dignity, instills hope, and builds a sense of ownership.”
Subaru of San Bernardino
On November 16, Subaru of San Bernardino, sponsored a packing event with Forever Kids and filled 100 suitcases with essentials for foster children. The employees and volunteers participated in a team-building packing event that provided the suitcases to local foster children in the San Berardino community. Subaru’s philanthropic mission is one of its cornerstones, and it fills this need through the Subaru Love Promise.
Pepe Cervantes, the general manager for Subaru of San Bernardino, said, “Partnering with Forever Kids is a blessing. It is special and rewarding to be part of such a great initiative. I am also grateful to work for a company (Subaru of San Bernardino) that cares and focuses on giving back. We look forward to working together again in the future.”
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Positive Impact
The suitcases are given to foster agencies in the local communities in which packing events are held to hand out to the foster children, and the positive impact of the suitcase program is far-reaching.
“It fills a valuable need in the community and is a shining example of how partnering with responsible sponsors can make a difference,” Scheumack said. “Anybody can donate finances or time to Forever Kids; it is a great way to affect the lives of over 430,000 foster children in the United States.”
Pack Parties
Forever Kids’ website has dates available for “pack parties.” Volunteers gather in a central location to pack suitcases for the children. Participants are part of the cause, and the event raises awareness of the dire needs of disenfranchised children. Communities come together for a good reason, and the parties provide networking and volunteer opportunities.
Forever Kids has made it its mission to tangibly help foster children. The suitcases they provide, with financial help from partners, fill a terrible void many foster children face. In addition to supplying essential items, the initiative gives children a sense of purpose and lets them know they are cared about.
“Each suitcase costs about $100,” Scheumack said. “The program has proven to be a model of success in California and we are looking for businesses to partner with so that we can take the program nationwide to help as many foster children as possible. These packing events not only benefit the foster children in the communities in which they are held, but they also have a profound impact on the employees of the businesses who sponsor them and take part in these team building events. We would love to take the program coast-to-coast in 2025.”
