My Stuff Bags Foundation

The My Stuff Bags Foundation provides duffels of new belongings to thousands of children each year who must be rescued from abandonment, abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and neglect across the United States. Tragically, these children often enter foster care or crisis shelters with little to nothing of their own.
By rallying widespread individual, corporate and grantor involvement and the labor force of thousands of volunteers, through our My Stuff Bags Program we address the immediate emotional, physical and psychological needs of rescued children and help support the agencies caring for them.

The My Stuff Bags Foundation, a non-profit based in Westlake Village, California, was founded in 1998 in response to the heartbreaking reality faced by children entering foster care or crisis shelters who often arrive with nothing but the clothes on their backs. While caregivers focus on protecting these children from immediate danger, they often lack the resources to provide essential items like toothpaste or comforting belongings such as stuffed animals or toys.
My Stuff Bags addresses this gap by providing abused, homeless, neglected, or displaced children in crisis with our signature blue duffels, filled with new, age- and gender-appropriate basic necessities and soothing items. Each Bag, valued between $80 and $100, is personalized for the child and contains items donated by generous individuals and companies across the nation.
Any non-profit agency in the U.S. serving children in crisis—such as state and county child and family services, foster care agencies, crisis shelters, homeless shelters, school districts, and law enforcement agencies—may apply for My Stuff Bags. We offer the Bags free of charge to these carefully vetted “Partner Agencies,” who then distribute them directly to distraught children. Each My Stuff Bag sends the message to the child: Many people care about you. You are worthy of dignity.
Thanks to our corporate sponsors, individual donors, and thousands of dedicated volunteer groups who contribute by donating funds, providing items, or packing Bags, we are able to distribute 20,000 My Stuff Bags to vulnerable children across America each year.

Traumatized by the events leading to their necessary rescue, many foster and homeless kids have already endured Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): distressing life events during childhood that can negatively impact the child’s mental and emotional health (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). According to the Children’s Law Center, half of all kids in foster care have endured four or more ACEs.

To recover from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as being rescued from a neglectful or abusive environment, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network suggests providing children “Psychological First Aid” (PFA). PFA is an evidence-based approach designed to provide traumatized children with immediate emotional and practical support to reduce distress and promote healthy coping. My Stuff Bags align with the principles of PFA in four key ways.

Stabilizing the child and encouraging a sense of calm:
By offering essential items like toothpaste, and comfort items like a blanket, each Bag helps meet the child’s immediate physical and emotional needs, fostering a sense of comfort and security.

Connecting the child to support:
My Stuff Bags initiates the relationship between the distressed child and the child welfare worker; a tangible way for the child to feel seen and slowly gain trust with the care worker.

Providing dignity:
Every My Stuff Bag is personalized with age- and gender-appropriate items, donated by generous individuals and companies nationwide. These new items remind the child that their needs are considered and that many people are there for them.

Offering opportunities for coping and encouraging social interaction:
Books, journals, and games in our Bags help provide much-needed distraction and stimulate connection with peers, enabling children to regain a sense of normalcy.

At My Stuff Bags, our goal is to get 20,000 Bags out the door every year to waiting children - but we can't do it without your support!

Nationwide, including Orange County

A Message from Our CEO

Bringing Hope to Children in Crisis

What can a My Stuff Bag full of toys, clothing, books and other items do for a sad and lonely child who has nothing? It can bring a smile to help dry the tears. It can bring things to play with and do when before there was only boredom. Most importantly, these bright blue duffels offer abused and neglected children the realization that they’re not alone, and that many people really do care about them. I’ve seen this immediate impact, and have read the many grateful letters from social service workers and even the kids themselves, saying how much receiving a My Stuff Bag meant to them during a dark and fearful time in their lives.

If you have previously donated funds or new children’s items to the My Stuff Bags Foundation, thank you. Your continued support and concern for these kids is enabling us to keep sending the duffels to children in need across the United States. If you’re new to My Stuff Bags, we need your help! The generosity and compassion of people like you makes it possible for us to provide new “stuff”, and most importantly, hope for a brighter future, to children who often enter shelters and foster care with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
Please help us to continue giving the warmth and comfort of new belongings and new hope to children in crisis across America.

Thank you,
Janeen Holmes
President & CEO