Community Corner

Totes 2 Tots Collecting Suitcases, Backpacks For Foster Children

The bags should be dropped off Friday, Jan. 13.

Ryan Klee, the public relations director for Lenz Inc., passed along a press release about the 10th annual Totes 2 Tots suitcase drive for foster children.

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The suitcases are being collected for foster children and will be dropped off across the state at 25 Georgia Cancer Specialists (GCS) offices.

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Locally, suitcases should be dropped off between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at the Georgia Cancer Specialist office at 2712 Lawrenceville Highway.

Here's part of the release:

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Totes 2 Tots delivers new or nearly new backpacks and kid-sized suitcases to foster children in Georgia—from infants to teenagers—many of whom must shuffle their belongings from home to home in garbage bags during frequent relocations.

The annual volunteer event was first launched by GCS in 2003 and has collected and distributed more than 25,000 bags. Originally held on Martin Luther King Day as a way to honor Dr. King’s vision and give back to the community, Totes is now held on the Friday before MLK Day as a kickoff to a weekend of service.

GCS Chief Operating Officer Dr. Wendy Hawke Lenz said, “By hosting the event to launch the Martin Luther King weekend, we believe that we honor Dr. King’s dream as we provide tangible reminders to the foster children in our state that someone cares about them.” 

GCS partners with the Division of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) to distribute the bags in the counties in which they’re collected.

Said DHS Commissioner Clyde Reese. "Having a decent traveling case or overnight bag to carry a child's belongings may seem like a small thing, but, in reality, these totes contain not only quickly gathered items but the fears, uncertainties, hopes and dreams of children caught in a whirlwind not of their own making.  I thank those who contribute and encourage all to consider being a part of this program." 

For more information, or to see the full list of participating offices, visit www.gacancer.com or Facebook.com/Totes2Tots, or call 1-877-716-CARE (2273).

 

 


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