OUR MISSION
My Bag My Story exists to provide duffel bags for kids in foster care. Your purchase of a bag will fund another for a child entering state custody. We believe that having his or her own bag allows a child coming into state custody to maintain dignity and have a sense of pride and self-worth. These children are faultless victims and even though they are leaving bad living situations, the transitions during foster care can be frightening and traumatic. As they enter a new home environment with people they often don’t know, having their few worldly possessions with them can be the only sense of familiarity and security they have. Having to carry their belongings from foster home to foster home in a garbage bag or grocery sack erodes their sense of value and self-worth. We want to provide these children with the same sense of value, love, and encouragement that all children need and deserve.
We foresee that every child entering state custody will receive a bag from his or her case manager when being transported to their first foster placement. The sale of our backpacks to the general public will fund the production of a functional, durable, gender-neutral duffel that a child entering the foster care system can use to transport his/her belongings. The public will be proud to carry one of our bags because they know their purchase also provides a child from a hard place the first step in feeling valued and cared for.
The purchase of one of our MyBagMyStory backpacks also provides an opportunity to share the mission and vision with others, furthering the awareness of how to support children and youth in foster care.
8500+ KIDS
are in foster care across the state of Tennessee alone
435,000 more
are in foster care nationwide
1/4th
of foster children suffer from PTSD
Over 40%
of foster children will not complete high school