TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – International non-profit Comfort Cases arrived in at the Adams Boys and Girls Club, located at 550 SE 27th St. in Topeka, Thursday, March 23, to host a “Packing Party”, filling backpacks with personal care items to deliver to foster children.

Personal items included pajamas, a blanket, toiletries, a toothbrush, a book, a plushie and commemorative cards. Rob Scheer, founder of Comfort Cases, says packing them into backpacks will give foster children hope and dignity, as those items are mostly carried in trash bags.

Scheer, a former foster child and currently a foster parent, shared his experience with the volunteers carrying a trash bag as a child. Four of his five foster children also carried trash bags full of personal items.

“The problem is that we have 7,000 children in foster care right here in Kansas,” Scheer said. “They’re carrying trash bags. That’s not acceptable.”

Members of Comfort Cases, Healthy Blue, Lt. Gov. David Toland and members of the community all filled over 200 backpacks in Topeka. According to their website, Comfort Cases has distributed over 200,000 in the United States, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom since its founding in 2013.

“Any little bit that we can do to make [a foster child’s] day and give them a little bit of a smile is important to us,” Aaron Lambert, Vice President of Community Engagement of Healthy Blue, said. “I have a 7-year-old and just to see the tags reminds me that there’s a lot of kids that need help.”

Comfort Cases is based out of Rockville, Maryland. Scheer has hosted hundreds of events over the years as he continues to raise awareness of issues facing youth in foster care.

Learn more about the segment here.