March 20th, 2018

Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a fragile 10 year old being pulled out of the only home you have ever known one evening right after dinner by a stranger who says they work for children. This stranger tells you to quickly put some of your belongings in a black trash bag because you can't stay at your home. After you fill your bag this stranger transports you to another home with more people who are strangers.
 
When this happens to a child they feel lost, frightened and worthless. A child more often than not feels like they are nothing more than trash just like their belongings stuffed in that black trash bag.  No child should ever feel this way.
 
A local non-profit organization, Bags of Hope, has a mission to bring dignity to each child in the foster care system by providing each child with an embroidered duffle bag complete with age appropriate comfort items.  The organization sells ornaments with each child's name and age on it. The monies raised from these ornaments go towards a beautiful duffle bag for a child.  It is the goal of Bags of Hope to provide every child in foster care with duffle bags.
 
 This year some members/businesses of the East Bay Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Stone Coast Community Church set out to help support the Bags of Hope mission and sold ornaments locally. Thank you to Beth Carter of Beth Carter Enterprises, Cidalia Rodriguez of Bank Newport, Danielle DeLuca Thompson of Re/Max Professionals, Robert Casale of Personal Security Consultants Inc., Stephanie Borden of One and Done Concierge and Tim Pray of TAP Printing.
 
Thanks to YOUR support, Bags of Hope hit their goal of making sure that EVERY foster care child in the state of RI & MA had a duffle bag. Please contact Danielle DeLuca Thompson on the Business & Community Engagement Committee at [email protected] ​

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