It is difficult to imagine being a child taken from the only home you have ever known and going to live with a new family, yet that is the reality for so many children in foster care.
To make these situations even more challenging, foster parents often do not have much notice before receiving a placement, and the kids generally come with few belongings. The possessions they do have are sometimes transported in trash bags because the child does not have a suitcase or suitable bag.
One local organization hopes to encourage foster families in this situation by supporting them in various ways.
Foster Kids KC was established about a year and a half ago by Whitney Eagleburger out of a passion to help foster families. With a mission of serving, encouraging and empowering foster youth and families in Kansas City, one of their primary projects is to provide placement kits to foster families.
These placement kits include items such as pajamas, toiletries, hair products, bedsheets and more. The items are then put into a duffel bag and delivered to foster families ideally within 24 hours of a child being placed with the family.
Given so many stories of foster kids transporting their items in trash bags, Katie Welch, president of Foster Kids KC, feels strongly that a duffel bag is given to each child as a part of their kit.
“It feels important to me to buy the duffel bag so they can have that dignity,” Welch says.
Last year the organization provided 52 placement kits to families, and they hope to double that number this year if the funding is available. Foster parents can request a placement kit through the website, fosterkidskc.org.
Having four foster kids of her own, Welch is well in tune with the needs of foster families. She hopes they can bring some joy to foster kids as the situation is by nature devastating for them.
“Foster care is a weighty, difficult calling to say yes to,” she says. “There are so many tensions that might make you want to quit, but the support makes it more sustainable. The support makes you keep going and lightens the load so you can keep saying yes and keep providing a safe, loving place for kids to come for a little while.”
In addition to the placement kits, Foster Kids KC also helps provide additional therapy assistance for foster families, financial support for extracurricular activities, cleaning and laundry services, and support for various other needs that might arise. They even have what they call a “flowerpot” fund that can be used for emergencies or unique situational needs.
Another initiative the organization is working on is developing relationships with businesses that would give discounts to foster families. These businesses might include fun entertainment venues for the kids or a salon where the parents can be pampered.
Katrina Carey says it was a blessing to receive a placement kit after taking a foster child into her home.
“Our child came to us in the middle of the night with only a few items in a bag,” Carey says. “The kit was full of new clothes, shoes, a jacket, toiletries—everything. It meant a lot that others were willing to provide this for a child who had just left everything behind.”
Sometimes it is the simple things that bring joy. Carey says her child’s favorite item from the kit is a spin brush toothbrush.
Of course, this work is all dependent on funding, and donations can be made through the website. In addition, Foster Kids KC is hosting a pickleball tournament on April 17 at Chicken N Pickle in North Kansas City. The cost is $50 for an individual or $100 for a team, and the winner receives a trophy and cash prize. They also hold an annual golf tournament as another important fundraiser.
Overall, Katie says it is fun and rewarding to support foster families. She says nothing good comes easy, and the children are worth it.