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Phoenix (April 19, 2018)-
People often ask the Department of Child Safety what they can do to help kids in foster care.
From expansive foster family events to individual donations, DCS welcomes any support that demonstrates how much the community cares about children in care.
Last month, three groups dedicated their time to help children in Arizona.
Corona del Sol High School
About 40 students from this Tempe school’s Key Club participated in a donation drive to collect personal care items for children.
The students held a pizza party in March to pack 100 drawstring backpacks with shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs and lotion.
“The experience of working on this project and knowing its impact on our community is amazing,” said Sheryl Braun, Corona del Sol’s Key Club Advisor. “It is amazing to see young people care so much about making a difference in their communities and gain leadership skills while doing it.”
The personal care bags will be distributed to children when they first come into DCS care.
Foster and Orphan Children Foundation
Whenever Jennifer Carroll, executive director of the Foster and Orphan Children Foundation, travels outside of her home in Virginia, she contacts the state’s child welfare agency to make a donation.
 During her recent trip to Arizona, Jennifer donated $300 worth of boys and girls undergarments and socks for children in foster care.
"As a foster parent for eight years, I want to support great people doing great things to protect our children and help them find forever families," Jennifer said. "I applaud the work that the Arizona Department of Child Safety is doing to impact the lives of children in need."
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Ladies Group
Members of this Scottsdale church came together on a Saturday in March to sew roughly 200 bags for children in foster care.
In addition to sewing the bags, the approximately 100 women who participated in the event also made small stuffed animals and wrote inspirational notes to the children who would receive these personal care bags.
"It thrills me to know our efforts will have a direct, positive impact at difficult moments in the lives of these children,” said Jennifer Rollins, who participated in the event. “This event illustrates how working together, we can make a positive difference in the world."
The ladies' group also held a donation drive to collect personal care items to place inside the bags.
You can help too
If you own a business or are part of an organization looking for ways to help children in foster care, consider holding an event for foster families to enjoy or reserve a few spots at your event for foster families to attend.
For more information on how you can include foster families in your next event, contact the DCS Community Liaison at [email protected].
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