Leadership Lauderdale needs your suitcases

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - In Mississippi there are an estimated 4,000 children in foster care. The sad reality for many of these children is they have no way to carry what belongings they have from one foster placement to another, oftentimes relying on grocery bags, or even trash bags, to carry their possessions.

The 2023 class of the Leadership Lauderdale program is hoping to change that for local foster children.

“Well, today I’m with Leadership Lauderdale, and right now we work with Judge Bell Young and her Herollers program where we’re asking for either new or slightly used luggage for, you know, to help the kids that they’re going through, you know, foster home to foster home. Just give them something to have with them as they go, because a lot of them don’t even have actual bags to tote all their stuff if they even have anything. Some probably are using just regular plastic, dollar store bags, you know, just use whatever they can to carry. This is just another way to help them out.” said Randy Dase, a 2023 Leadership Lauderdale class member.

If you’d like to donate a gently used or new suitcase to the cause, you can take them to any one of the drop-off locations listed on the flyer below.