CASA Partners

ng everything from a toothbrush and other personal care items to clothing and school supplies. Each bag also contains a handmade quilt or Afghan, a stuffed toy, and books to give the child solace. No longer are the children in Spokane County’s foster care system called the “garbage bag kids,” a term applied when personal belongings were carried in black plastic garbage bags. Even more important than providing for the basic needs for living, My Bag gives these children dignity and comfort at a very frightening and difficult time in their lives. Since its beginning in April of 1998, the My Bag project, including My School Bag, has provided more than 10,000 bags filled with love, dignity, and comfort for these children. Identified as needing this help by social workers and public health nurses, these children are at risk of abuse and neglect, and in some cases are living with relatives with limited resources. The social workers provide sizes for each child and a monumental shopping frenzy begins. Through My School Bag, each child receives a new backpack filled with school supplies, new clothes and shoes for the first day of school. Each bag also contains a comforting quilt, a stuffed animal, and personal toiletries. These bags are delivered to the children in time for the first day of school. Bee Kind Garden- Bee Kind Garden project is a therapeutic program designed to teach gentleness, kindness, and empathy to children removed from violent homes. Each child is matched with a trained volunteer who gives his or her undivided attention to the child while together they explore arts and crafts, nurture plants, and interact with child-friendly animals. Especially important is the fact that Bee Kind Garden, located at the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center, is a safe place to be a child! Needs From the Heart- The requests run the gamut from a potty chair to senior pictures. They represent such basics as furniture and bedding for a child moving into a new foster home, to the fervent wish of a 15-year-old to be able to take Drivers Ed. These are items or activities that foster parents and social workers are unable to provide, but that Needs from the Heart can fulfill.