Foster Care Packing Event

Written by Sydney McKee

The University of Sioux Falls recently provided the space for student Neveah Schreiber to host a foster care duffle bag packing event through Foster Love, previously called Together We Rise. This is Neveah’s third time hosting a foster care event and it was located at Cooper’s Café on March 29. “There are kids in the foster system, that when they move, they don’t have bags to pack, so they use garbage bags. As a former foster kid, I wanted to break that a little bit,” explained Schreiber. The purpose for these duffle bag packing events is to provide bags and comfort items for children in the foster care system. The bags that were packed included a blanket, teddy bear, coloring book with crayons, and a hygiene bag. The bags that were packed that day were specifically for kids up to twelve, although Foster Love has other bags that are packed for other age groups as well.

As a former foster kid, Schreiber is a strong advocate for kids in the foster system. She found Foster Love through Instagram and has been working with them for 2 years. Schreiber has hosted different events the past three semesters with Foster Love and hopes to do more. Foster Love also packs superhero boxes, birthday boxes, STEM boxes, teen cases for 13-17, and bike or skateboard building boxes. “These are all things you can bring into your own community or donate to bigger communities doing these events. These are just a few ways you can go about being a part of their organization,” shared Schreiber. Foster Love has connected Neveah with high need areas or foster care programs around Sioux Falls to give these packages. If you would like to participate or volunteer in these types of events, you can visit www.forthechildrensiouxempire.org or www. compasscenter.org.