Dignity Partner Series: Church of the City’s Wrap Around Program Provides Foster Families with Essentials and Support

When Brandy and Darren Whitehead met, he was a youth pastor and she was a social worker. Through her profession, Brandy saw the many needs of foster families and knew there were service gaps the church could help fill. 

Darren and Brandy have been married for 23 years, and 13 years ago, they started Church of the City. Since the beginning, partnering with those in foster care has become one of the church’s highest priorities. 

At Brandy’s suggestion and with the support of other ministry volunteers, the church started the Wrap Around ministry that included a support group for foster families and the Wrap Around Closet to provide new and lightly used clothes, car seats, strollers and anything else a foster child could need. 

My Bag My Story was an early partner for the Wrap Around ministry, providing duffel bags and backpacks. 

Today, Church of the City’s Wrap Around ministry provides items to 60-100 kids every month and, as a Dignity Partner, works with My Bag My Story to support the Wrap Around Closet and back-to-school events. 

The ministry’s outreach to support groups has grown from one to three groups, and its Wrap Teams provide around 45 foster families with a weekly meal, weekly laundry support, and two monthly relief nights. 

Additionally, the ministry’s First Responders team supports the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, mainly in Williamson County, to provide swift assistance to foster families with new children in their care by providing the families with two to three nights' worth of meals, grocery staples and essential items within 24 to 36 hours of the foster children’s arrival at their foster homes.  

Stacey Glass is Church of the City’s Citywide Village Director, and she’s seen kids light up as they come through the Wrap Around Closet and get items that they can put in their new bags from My Bag My Story.  

“There are so many lives that are touched through My Bag My Story. We just get to be the catalyst. We get to be the ones that get to hand it off,” says Glass. She sees the impact of supporting the Wrap Around ministry and organizations like My Bag My Story as impactful ways people can give back. 

Glass says the ministry is a way the church can exemplify Christ’s love for children. “You know, it's crazy at how giving away free clothes in a free bag lets them know that they're seen not only by people, but by God.” 

Glass sees the items young people receive, including their My Bag My Story bags, as proof points to remind them that they can overcome their circumstances. 

“Their story does not define who they are” she says. “Doing something as simple as telling them that they get to pick out something that's just theirs, I think can be life changing.” 

Her message to people wondering if the bag donations make a difference is clear: “For people saying does it really matter? It matters. Them purchasing a bag matters. Because they're supporting a kid who has to face every challenge that they should never have to face.”