Sometimes all it takes is someone to recognise a problem and find a simple solution to make a big change in the lives of others. Rob Chasteen-Scheer, Founder of Comfort Cases, is just that person.

When children enter foster homes in the United States they oftentimes bring only a trash bag of clothes with them. Yes, you read that correctly: they carry only a trash bag of clothes with them.

Chasteen-Scheer was in the foster care system from the age of ten, so he knows full well what it feels like to carry your whole world in a tattered trash bag.

“When my partner (now my husband) and I decided to adopt we began as foster parents. In January 2009 social workers called, saying they needed a foster home for a 4-year-old girl and her 2-year-old brother. We would become the third foster home to these children in less than three months.”

When Amaya and Makai arrived they carried nothing more than a trash bag with a well-worn tattered outfits and Chasteen-Scheer immediately flashed back to being ten-years-old, arriving at his foster home with a trash bag.

“More than 20 years later I still remember that day. I remember my foster parents taking me to buy clothes for church because I carried only a tattered pair of pants and two stained T-shirts.”

Chasteen-Scheer decided it was time for something to change. Now the adoptive father of four children, he has founded Comfort Cases, a non-profit based in Maryland in the United States, that provides basic supplies for children in foster care.

Children under ten receive a backpack that is packed with pyjamas, a small blanket, toothbrush, toothpaste shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, coloring book and crayons, a book, and a stuffed animal. Backpacks for children over ten include much of the same, although the coloring book and crayons are replaced with a journal, pens, and pencils.

Vulnerable children in our societies face special challenges as they mature, not least of which the insecurity of not having a ‘real’ home or something to call their own.  Comfort Cases help alleviate the often-difficult journey foster children face.

There are many ways you can support Comfort Cases: volunteer with the organisation, donate items needed, host a packing party, or contribute funds.

Learn more about how to get involved at the Comfort Cases website and watch the video below to hear Rob tell his story.

Share this article

About Author

Comments are closed.