When Louise Burnie Allnut took Landmark Education’s self-expression and leadership programme in New Zealand last year, she decided to make a difference for young people heading into foster care. Many children who are placed into new homes have no possessions except for the clothes they are wearing when they first arrive at their new foster home.
Allnut partnered with foster mother Sam Weir to give children something that was there own and for them to know someone cares about them. They combined to collect 500 teddy bears and 300 other soft toys through the Bears2Care and Cuddles2Keep organisations, and gave them away to foster kids through other organisastions.
Then Weir came up with the Kits2Kids concept, through which each young person got a kit of personal items. Weir also convinced Allnut that it was worth going through red tape to form their own non-profit, Foster Hope Charitable Trust. This enabled them to receive product donations from businesses all around New Zealand.
Child development expert Ngarie Wroslie has become part of the Foster Hope Team, coordinating donations into kits and making sure they are distributed to local foster care organisations.
To find out more or contribute to this worthy organisation, visit the website of Foster Hope now.