Feedback

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“Amazing! I wish there was something like this when I was in care! What you, and everyone else is doing I can guarantee it's making a difference in every child that receives ones life! Thank you so much! I hope soon to be able to buy and make a care bag soon. This is just so damn incredible what you have started!”

“We got two little ones (1&2) Friday night around 10… we got the call around 5:30pm asking for them to stay as an emergency placement. We had nothing set up. No extras bought. The girls both came with a Care Bag. It made the world of difference. Clean clothes for the morning, something to cuddle, toothbrushes and hairbrushes to keep them clean. There are no words to explain how thankful we are for the care bag. Until you get a scared someone in the middle of the night… you won’t truly get it. It just takes the stress off finding them stuff and allows I to focus on that little one who needs you. Thanks to everyone who donated!”

“Wanted to send our thanks from our district to you for the care bags. The bags will mean we can focus our attention on the child and family when a child comes into care urgently. On many occasions we have to scramble together some care products and clothes and often end up with some items that can be a mishmash given time constraints.. being able to go directly to size, gender with a list of contents is great!! Plus knowing that all items are new and specially chosen will in someway provide children some level of comfort. Please send our thanks to those who donated items for these care bags, they are very much appreciated.”

“We recently bought an 11 year old into care, he literally arrived at the office with only the clothes on his back, you should have seen his eyes light up when he was given a care bag. From everyone at our office thank you”

"...this initiative is such a good news story...dedicated people have recognised a very clear and tangible need for children entering care, who come from a place of trauma and arrive with nothing, are given Care Bag. This might seem like a very small gesture but, for these children it sends a strong, positive message that they are valued and that people do care about them in a situation for them of uncertainty”

“8-9 months ago I supported a colleague to bring 3 young children into care, I gave them each a care bag and drove them two hours to their placement. I recently bumped into the 9 year old at the shops with her carer, when I asked her if she remembered me she gave me a shy smile and said ‘you gave me my flamingo, I sleep with it every night’ an then was so excited to get her carer to show me a photo of her flamingo pride n placed in the middle of her bed. From what was a confusing day for this young girl the memory she associated with me was not feeling scared and confused but was of me giving her a flamingo teddy. Thank you to everyone who supports this initiative you helped create a happy moment on a not so happy day.”

“Over the last week I took on a caring role for a little boy who had just come into care - different role for me and I was lucky enough to see how this wonderful community positively affects our children. The boy came to us with minimal clothing and no comfort items or toys - with no children we didn’t have many toys either. He was so excited to see all the clothing and immediately put minion pjs on (I struggled to get him out of them for the next 5 nights), but he really loved the joke book, a ‘special diary’ and a puzzle toy which I had to remake into a square everyday. Whilst small, that puzzle never left his side - and the last thing he did before we left on the last day was triple check the bag to make sure he still had the puzzle. Thank you to whoever donated the care bag - I can guarantee you made a difference to this little mans care journey”

"I received a call at 4:30pm asking me to take 6 year old twins. Within 2 hours they arrived. I didn’t have anything for that age group but thanks to the Care Bags they came with made such a difference. The look on the kids faces when they opened the bags was priceless. It was the little things like a pencil case, stickers, lunch box. I was then able to fill up the lunch boxes with food and drink. These kids were starving  and had been without a good meal. Thanks for the Care Bags, the kids now have something of their own.”

“I just dropped off 3 care bags to children we needed to take into care today. The 5 year old girl was lying on the lounge under a blanket when I arrived after what had obviously been a very tough day. She pulled a stuffed unicorn out of her care bag and squealed with delight. One by one she took every item out of the bag and then she said to me 'but it's not even my birthday'. I told her that they were special things picked out just for her to have for her sleepover and that she could keep them forever. She carefully lined up every single item, showing them to the carer's other children. She then picked up the unicorn and snuggled back on the lounge.The carer was very grateful for the bags as was I, to be able to put a smile on the children's faces. Thank you again. Your Care bags really do make a massive difference.”

“Thank you for your donation of care bags we really appreciate your initiative of supporting children entering care. Often when children come into care, they have absolutely nothing except the clothes they are wearing. It is wonderful to be able to offer them a care pack to make this otherwise traumatic journey, a little nicer.”

  “We recently needed to remove two young boys from their Mum’s care in a situation that must have been extremely confusing and confronting for them. As they sat in the back of the car they both looked very lost. At a time like that it is very hard to know what to say to provide them with comfort. It was really great to be able to give them both their own care bag as they soon became focussed on the items inside, particularly the comfort items. I think it is really important for children at that time to know they will have their own new pyjamas to wear to bed that night and their own new clothes to put on the following day, taking away some of the uncertainty. Thanks again to you and all of your supporters for all of your amazing efforts.”

  “As you are probably aware lots of our carers live in the much smaller towns surrounding our offices and as such have very limited access to resources, especially if its late in the day, to grab what essentially they need to get a child through the night until we can sort extra clothes etc.  These bags will mean that children can know they have clothes for a day or two and carers can focus on meeting the children's initial emotional needs rather than worrying about sourcing clothes etc.”