Haven House 

I am pleased to announce that Brianna Swinderman has decided to make Haven House one of the beneficiaries of her Girl Scout Gold Award project.  Haven House is a shelter and provider of services for women and children who have suffered from domestic violence.  Brianna had chosen to collect suitcases and duffel bags to be distributed to our clients.  I wholeheartedly support Brianna's project.  This will indeed bring  a much needed item, as well as an increase in self esteem, to our clients.  

Jaclyn Deniston, Case Manager, Haven House Inc. 

 CYFD

"The Children, Youth, and Family Department; Child Protective Division of Bernalillo County, would like to express our sincerest gratitude to you for taking on this wonderful project, "Bags of Hope'!

Your endeavors to collect donations of new or gently used luggage or duffel bags will bring smiles to the faces of the children receiving them!

As you know, our foster children have led very difficult lives and we do not wish to add to their difficulties. By providing a foster child a simple piece of luggage to place their precious belongings in, gives a message that we treasure not only what they own, but them as individuals as well. Again, thank you so very much for doing this for our foster children.

Sincerely, Lisa Madrid-Schleicher, CYFD Regional Manager, Bernalillo County

Statement From A Foster Parent

It is always the hope that foster kids will be returned to their families or be placed permanently with a foster family.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, and many of them end up moving from place to place.

 

My husband and I had no idea how badly luggage and bags were needed in the foster system until we became foster parents in the Dallas area years ago.  Kids would come to us carrying everything they owned in plastic trash bags.  Many of them didn’t even realize that this isn’t normal.  Giving a child a piece of luggage or duffel bag to call his own gives him a sense of significance at a time when everything around him is changing.  It is a small but powerful gift.  We wholly support the efforts of Bags of Hope.