Gifts inside a gift: Liberty students meet the needs of area foster children through luggage

When a child first enters foster care, making the sudden transition to a new home and a new family on the same day can take its toll. What they once saw as their own seems to blur. A trash bag might hold all of their possessions, and sometimes, because of how quickly they are removed from their former home, the only clothes the children have are the ones they are wearing that day.

In an effort to make the initial moments in a new household more stable, Liberty University partnered with Unclaimed Baggage and HumanKind this semester to distribute 308 suitcases to foster children in Central Virginia. Unclaimed Baggage donated the suitcases, then Liberty students decorated them and purchased hygiene kits, blankets, and toys to pack inside.

The effort began five years ago when Jamie Creasy, Director of Foster Care for HumanKind, a nonprofit human services organization with locations throughout Virginia, saw the need for foster children to have luggage that was dependable and practical. Creasy was placing a 16-year-old girl in a new home at the time and saw her physically shaking with fear that her new family would reject her as she tightly clutched the worn laundry bag that held her clothes.

“I encouraged her that these new caretakers would love her and she would do great, and just as she went to shake the foster dad’s hand, her bra and underwear from the bag fell out on the ground in front of them,” Creasy recalled. “She was mortified, and it was then that I knew I had to do something about this.”

On her own, she started collecting donated luggage and called the project Cases for Kids. The program grew over the years after becoming a viral news story, and eventually became a program under HumanKind, with Creasy overseeing the cause.

Wanda Boothe, who has been a local foster parent on and off for 28 years and is involved with HumanKind, has seen the sparks of joy that these bags have caused in the lives of children she has fostered.

“I get to see a real light in their eyes when they get to open something, be it a suitcase or backpack, and see the new blankets, hygiene items, or stuffed animals in there,” Boothe said. “It brings a sparkle to their eyes in that truly sad situation … and it gives them something new that they can hold on to.”

In October, Creasy received a call from Liberty’s LU Serve office, asking how the university could better care for the needs of the foster care system in the Lynchburg area — the seventh highest area for the number of foster children in Virginia. She mentioned her backpack program.

Students were encouraged to get involved through their community groups and purchased items on their own to fill and decorate the suitcases before bringing them to Convocation on Nov. 8. The special guest that day was Brenda Cantrell, media liaison and brand ambassador for the Unclaimed Baggage Center, which donated the empty suitcases for students as part of their Love Luggage initiative. The center was founded in 1970 on the idea of bringing in the baggage left behind at airports across the country, cleaning and sorting the contents, and selling the items for a discounted rate. The business is now one of Alabama’s top tourist attractions at its location in Scottsboro.

Cantrell said the center wanted to partner with Liberty to help as many foster children as they could.

“So many of these children don’t feel worthy and they don’t feel that who they are represents anything to anybody,” Cantrell said. “We don’t want them to feel disposable, we want them to know that they have a place in the house of the Lord.”

On a stage filled with over 300 of the colorful suitcases, four Liberty students who spent time in the foster care system shared about their experiences and how God led them through the challenges they faced in the process. Audrey Gregoire, a student who was in the system for three years with her sister and lived in three different homes, shared memories of she and her siblings being removed from her home by Child Protective Services and having her belongings handed over in a trash bag with each new household.

“It doesn’t give someone dignity or worth because garbage goes in a trash bag, not someone’s belongings and their whole life,” Gregoire said.

Watch the Nov. 8 Love Luggage Convocation on the Liberty University YouTube Channel

On Dec. 9, HumanKind began distributing the suitcases to county social services offices in the area, including Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, Roanoke City, and Roanoke County. They will send 15-20 bags at a time and restock as needed throughout the year.

“I am humbled and thankful for the kindness and time (students) spent putting the luggage together, and the luggage will provide some comfort to children who are experiencing one of the worst days of their lives,” Creasy said. “The partnership with Liberty and Unclaimed Baggage has been such a blessing to us.”