Keesler Federal Credit Union donates duffle bags to children in foster care

Keesler Federal Credit Union is donating rolling duffle bags for children in foster care.

Volunteers at Keesler Federal Credit Union are working in an assembly line, putting personal hygiene items into bags.

The work is tedious and long, but when it’s finished, around 2,800 children in foster care and child advocacy centers will have a duffle bag full of items that they can call their own. Community Development Officer Samantha Bignell said, “There are times when they’re taken out of a home or a place that they’re at, they only can put their stuff in a trash bag, if they have anything. So, this will allow them to have their own bag that they can roll and take whatever they want, their own toothbrush, their own blanket that no one else has ever used, a nightlight in case they get scared, and a notebook, so they can write down how they feel.”

These duffle bags are going to be stocked full of supplies before being sent off to three different states.

Keesler Federal Credit Union will be providing these rolling duffle bags across Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana within their market area.

Loading up thousands of duffle bags is no easy feat, but volunteers like Dawn Cox see the importance of offering a helping hand. “I volunteered today to be an advocate and to help support this cause. And I am a mom of a daughter, and just thinking about what she may need if she is displaced.”

Keesler Federal Credit Union still has two more days of packing before these duffle bags are ready to be sent off to their new owners.