Group Wants Record-Breaking Suitcase Drive
Suitcases collected at a recent collection drive for Suitcases4Kids. Courtesy photo.
Suitcase Drive at Medford City Hall January 16
Organizers Seek to Break Guinness Record by Collecting 5,550 Suitcases for Foster ChildrenThe following announcement is from Suitcases4Kids:Being accepted into a foster family is a happy occasion for a child, but all too often, it is one tinged with indignity.
That’s because through no fault of their own, thousands of children in institutional care carry their personal belongings in garbage bags each time they move.
Ron Nickerson is trying to change that. “After 25 years of working with children, I have seen enough kids with trash bags!” said Nickerson, a foster parent of three boys who lives in North Andover.
“It’s time to give them some dignity.”
He is doing that through an organization he founded last year called Suitcases for Kids, which collects donations of suitcases and similar items and provides them to agencies so that every child moving into or out of state care has an appropriate way to transport their clothes and other possessions.
“Every child in the care of the Department of Children and Families in Massachusetts should have at least one suitcase so that when they are moving to a new home, they can pack their belongings with dignity,” Nickerson said.
His goal is to collect 14,000 suitcases in the first year of the project, or by June 2010. On Saturday, Jan. 16, a collection drive will be held at Medford City Hall, 85 George P. Hassett Dr. New or gently used suitcases, duffel bags or large backpacks may be dropped off from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Through previous collection drives and special events, Nickerson’s organization has collected 9,079 suitcases; of those, 4,204 have been distributed to children in need. “Our success depends on the donations from the community,” Nickerson said.
Medford’s Jennie Ankney was drawn to serve on the Jan. 16 event committee after working with Nickerson on other philanthropic ventures.
“The message we hope to send is ‘You are important. You are valuable!'” Ankney said. “I was not a foster child but I was adopted, so know the value of love, care and compassion for children going to a new home.”
Sponsors of the Medford collection event include Mayor Michael J. McGlynn and Citizens Bank.
In addition to contributing donations, volunteers are needed to work at the City Hall event, assisting with cleaning, inspecting, sorting, and loading items onto a truck.
Anyone interested in volunteering or who would like more information on the Medford event should contact Jennie Ankney at 617-688-8111. For more information on the organization, visit www.suitcases4kids.org.