FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- When foster kids go to a new home, they're given a trash bag to carry their belongings. However, one local group, A Blessing Bag, is asking the community to help change this.
The organization is in the last few days of a shoe drive that will help foster children in Northwest Arkansas. The shoes should be gently worn and can be any size. The shoes won't go directly to foster kids, they will go to micro-enterprise vendors, which are small businesses in developing nations usually operated by one person or a family and friends.
A Blessing Bag will get the money for the shoes and use it to buy and fill blessing bags. The bags are filled with things like blankets, hygiene kits, and anything else the child might need to adjust to their new home.
CEO of A Blessing Bag, Kimberly Ruth said having a backpack or a bag of their own will help comfort the child in this situation.
"Trash bags are for trash," said Ruth. "That's what we use them for in our homes."
Ruth said when a kid has a backpack, it's something they can identify with and something that belongs to them.
Blessing bags are given to The Call in Northwest Arkansas, then distributed to foster parents as they pick up their foster child.
The goal is to collect 100 bags of 25 pairs of shoes. So far the group has collected seven bags. The deadline is set for Friday (April 15), but Ruth said they're working to extend it.
Donations can be dropped off at Fayetteville Fire Station 1 at 303 W. Center Street. If you're not able to deliver your donations, A Blessing Bag will come pick them up. For pick up, contact Kimberly Ruth, fostercarelove@gmail.com or visit the Facebook page for more information.