Giving Back to Our Community
Suitcases 4 Kids was founded in 2014 by Skylar Medes! The Medes family has been a foster family for ten years and has had 15 foster children during that time. When Skylar was in the 6th grade she noticed that most of the foster kids that came into their home had very little clothing, personal care items, or a suitcase/bag to carry their items. Some children would have clothes and other items they brought with them that they carried in a garbage bag or a paper box, but most of them came with only the clothes they were wearing. This made her realize that when children come into a new foster home, they would not have many essential items they need right away. So, Skylar started to collect gently used clothes, suitcases/bags, and personal care items to give to her foster siblings. Eventually, she expanded her donations and has been able to offer a suitcase full of belongings to over 300 foster children. When she won the 2017 Y-PIF (Youth Passing It Forward) Award, with the help of Give-A-Kid-Project in Holt, and their team of volunteers they are helping Foster Care workers and Foster Parents get needed items for children in foster care, along with all the other amazing projects they offer the community. We are asking empowHER participants to help Skylar and her organization! If you can please bring a donation for children in foster care, you will be helping kids in your community. Personal care items are always needed: diapers, wipes or pullups, socks, underwear, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo/conditioner or lotion, or gently used suitcases/bags. Skylar will make sure that these donated items are given to children in foster care so that they can have items of their own! Thanks for your help!