Rotary Makes Comfort Kits
The Rotary Club of Morganton assembles “Comfort Kits” for kids taken into foster care in Burke County. Often removed in the middle of the night with law enforcement and violence surrounding them these children show up to the foster parents’ homes with little to nothing at all.
For two years our club has assembled kits for 8 different age groups. Karen Milner led a group to purchase the supplies and assemble the kits. We plan to assemble 64 kits in total, 8 for each group, and donate a few extra bags for future kits. Depending on the age, bags contained items such as diapers and wipes, onesies, toiletries, stuffed animals.
If you want to help Rotary make a difference in the community with a donation, contact us here.
Susan was only 6 years old when there was a knock at the door of the home where she was living. In walked a policeman and a woman who asked her questions, checked her for bruises then drove her and her 3 year old brother away from the only home she had ever known. What few possessions she owned were put into a trash bag and taken with her. She was separated from her brother because there aren’t enough foster homes in Burke County and no one had room for 2 children. That being the case, she was terrified that they were put into separate homes with strangers.
Children are experiencing trauma in Burke County on a regular basis when they have to be removed from their homes and placed in foster care, not because of their actions, but because of the actions of the people who are supposed to be the very ones who love and care for them. More studies are being done that show how trauma in childhood can, and often does, affect children all their lives in a negative way.
The Rotary Club of Morganton, which meets at noon every Wednesday at the Morganton Community House, partnered with Burke County Collaborative to provide Comfort Kits for children who must be removed from their homes and placed in foster care. Funding for the kits came from Rotary of Morganton’s annual August Ohana Family Mud Run fundraiser which was created purposely to contribute all the money made back into our community.
Comfort Kits were filled with age appropriate items ranging from bottles, pacifiers, shampoo and diapers for babies to deodorant, toothpaste and hairbrushes for teenagers. Every bag, no matter the age group, has a teddy bear and a blanket. The bags have enough room in them so that children don’t have to carry their clothes in a trash bag. Rotary provided 64 bags customized for eight age groups and assembled with over 100 items that are stored at Department of Social Services and given to children when they come into foster care. The photo shows the Rotary Club of Morganton volunteers who packed these Comfort Kits.
Soon these bags will be on their way to give physical and emotional support to children like Susan and her brother who are removed from their home.
Want to become a Rotary Member to help even more by giving time to the community? Fill out the form and mail it to P.O. Box 294 Morganton, NC 28680.
