My Bag My Story
Programs
Budget
$50,000.00
Description
Our Dignity Program provides high-quality duffel bags, backpacks, and accessory pouches to children in foster care throughout Middle Tennessee. We provide these bags through our Dignity Partners, who work directly with children in the foster care system. We are grateful to partner with these organizations to help end the trash bag and elevate a child's sense of dignity. Our Dignity Partners include AGAPE, TN Kids Belong, CASA, Department of Children's Services, Bethany Christian Services, Youth Villages, the Omni Family, Monroe Harding, End Slavery TN, and YaiPak Outreach, with more being added. Our bags bring dignity and self-worth back to children in foster care by replacing the trash bag that most children in foster care use to carry their belongings form home to home. No child should have to carry their belongings in a garbage bag. We want children in foster care's dignity and self-worth to be restored. We have donated over 1,000 bags to children in foster care in Middle TN so far.
Program Successes
Examples of program success include donating over 1,000 bags thus far to children in foster care across Middle TN. Executive Director of Omni Visions, Teresa, says about My Bag My Story, "On the surface some may think 'Great, they are providing bags for foster youth as they come into custody.' However, it is so much more than that… [My Bag My Story] is providing more than a bag to the youth we serve. By providing such a nice quality piece of luggage they are making a statement to that youth 'you are worthy, you matter'". Our Dignity Program's objectives are to provide bags to children in foster care, end the sad reality of the trash bag, elevate a child's sense of dignity, and spread awareness about the needs of foster care in our communities.
Category
Human Services - Foster Care
Beneficiaries
Children and Youth (0 - 19 years)
Long-term Success
Long term success will be achieved when every child in foster care in Tennessee has an attractive bag to call their own and no longer carry their belongings in plastic trash bags. Additionally, our bags are vehicles to show love and to advocate for children in foster care and foster care families. Therefore, long term success would also include spreading awareness and education about the needs of foster care, so people understand the complex needs of the foster care system and trash bags will be completely taken out of the equation.
Short-term Success
Our short term success will be achieved when the distribution and logistics are mature enough to be able to offer the programs to every agency in Tennessee.
Program Success Monitored By
Tangibly, program success can be measured by the number of bags The Dignity Program is able to distribute to our Dignity Partners. It is our goal that every child in foster care in Tennessee, which is currently 8,000 children, will have their very own My Bag My Story bag by 2025. More holistically, our success will be measured by the awareness that is spread about the needs of foster care and how we, as an organization, can advocate for children, agencies, and parents involved in the foster care system.
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
$50,000.00
Description
Our Dignity Program provides high-quality duffel bags, backpacks, and accessory pouches to children in foster care throughout Middle Tennessee. We provide these bags through our Dignity Partners, who work directly with children in the foster care system. We are grateful to partner with these organizations to help end the trash bag and elevate a child's sense of dignity. Our Dignity Partners include AGAPE, TN Kids Belong, CASA, Department of Children's Services, Bethany Christian Services, Youth Villages, the Omni Family, Monroe Harding, End Slavery TN, and YaiPak Outreach, with more being added. Our bags bring dignity and self-worth back to children in foster care by replacing the trash bag that most children in foster care use to carry their belongings form home to home. No child should have to carry their belongings in a garbage bag. We want children in foster care's dignity and self-worth to be restored. We have donated over 1,000 bags to children in foster care in Middle TN so far.
Program Successes
Examples of program success include donating over 1,000 bags thus far to children in foster care across Middle TN. Executive Director of Omni Visions, Teresa, says about My Bag My Story, "On the surface some may think 'Great, they are providing bags for foster youth as they come into custody.' However, it is so much more than that… [My Bag My Story] is providing more than a bag to the youth we serve. By providing such a nice quality piece of luggage they are making a statement to that youth 'you are worthy, you matter'". Our Dignity Program's objectives are to provide bags to children in foster care, end the sad reality of the trash bag, elevate a child's sense of dignity, and spread awareness about the needs of foster care in our communities.
Category
Human Services - Foster Care
Beneficiaries
Children and Youth (0 - 19 years)
Long-term Success
Long term success will be achieved when every child in foster care in Tennessee has an attractive bag to call their own and no longer carry their belongings in plastic trash bags. Additionally, our bags are vehicles to show love and to advocate for children in foster care and foster care families. Therefore, long term success would also include spreading awareness and education about the needs of foster care, so people understand the complex needs of the foster care system and trash bags will be completely taken out of the equation.
Short-term Success
Our short term success will be achieved when the distribution and logistics are mature enough to be able to offer the programs to every agency in Tennessee.
Program Success Monitored By
Tangibly, program success can be measured by the number of bags The Dignity Program is able to distribute to our Dignity Partners. It is our goal that every child in foster care in Tennessee, which is currently 8,000 children, will have their very own My Bag My Story bag by 2025. More holistically, our success will be measured by the awareness that is spread about the needs of foster care and how we, as an organization, can advocate for children, agencies, and parents involved in the foster care system.
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
Budget
$5,000.00
Description
The vast majority of the adult population has only a vague understanding of the foster care system. Additionally, there is a shortage of adults willing to participate in the care and nurturing of children forced into foster care. Through campaigns for awareness and production of education material we believe we can increase the numbers of available foster care families in Tennessee and beyond. This program is intertwined with our Dignity Program in numerous ways, but something that as our organization evolves, we will increase its capacity.
Beneficiaries
Children and Youth (0 - 19 years)
Long-term Success
Long-term success looks like a significant increase in families becoming educated, equipped, and willing to become foster parents after understanding the deep need for additional, loving foster care homes for children in Tennessee and beyond.
Short-term Success
Short-term success includes creating educational materials and using our organization's voice to publicize the issues in the foster care system, like children carrying their belongings in trash bags. Just that piece of information should be enough to make someone's head turn and think, "Wow, if most children in foster care don't even have an adequate bag to carry their belongings from home to home in, how many more needs are unmet for these children?"
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
$5,000.00
Description
The vast majority of the adult population has only a vague understanding of the foster care system. Additionally, there is a shortage of adults willing to participate in the care and nurturing of children forced into foster care. Through campaigns for awareness and production of education material we believe we can increase the numbers of available foster care families in Tennessee and beyond. This program is intertwined with our Dignity Program in numerous ways, but something that as our organization evolves, we will increase its capacity.
Beneficiaries
Children and Youth (0 - 19 years)
Long-term Success
Long-term success looks like a significant increase in families becoming educated, equipped, and willing to become foster parents after understanding the deep need for additional, loving foster care homes for children in Tennessee and beyond.
Short-term Success
Short-term success includes creating educational materials and using our organization's voice to publicize the issues in the foster care system, like children carrying their belongings in trash bags. Just that piece of information should be enough to make someone's head turn and think, "Wow, if most children in foster care don't even have an adequate bag to carry their belongings from home to home in, how many more needs are unmet for these children?"
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
CEO/Executive Director/Board Comments
| When we were first established in 2019, all materials and manufacturing costs for our bags for our Dignity Program were donated to us. Our buy one give one social enterprise was our main means of raising the funding needed to support our program. Now, beginning in 2022, we no longer have that luxury, and therefore, the prices of our bags for our social enterprise had to double, and we are paying a significant amount to purchase the materials for and manufacture our bags. We also have had several additional agencies request to become Dignity Partners and receive our services, increasing our costs as well. More than ever, we are in need of additional funding outside of our social enterprise and individual donors. We are so grateful for foundations and partners who have stepped up to support our organization, and are continuously searching for additional support to continue the work that we do to impact the lives of children in foster care in Tennessee. |
