Geaux Bags provide essentials to children in need

Geaux Bags, an outreach project that serves children in crisis within the first 24 hours they are placed in foster care, provides a bag of age-specific, basic necessities. The goal is to give dignity and a sense of caring to these children and to provide the practical items foster parents need to be able to focus on the relationship and the feelings of the traumatized children.

The program, under the direction of Geaux 4 Kids, is one of the first in the nation that provides for all children their first night in care. Geaux Bags is operated entirely by volunteers and from donations, most of which have been in the form of in-kind materials and supplies.

The Northwest Louisiana Family Justice Center donates office and storage space to house the items, and volunteers assemble the Geaux Bags. Once completed, they are given directly to local Department of Children and Family Services offices to deliver along with the children for their first night in care. Since 2013, the project has served over 4,500 children in foster care in Region 7.

As a foster parent since 2013, Geaux 4 Kids founder K.C. Kilpatrick discovered how stressful the initial 24-48 hours of receiving a child or children into foster care can be and how impossible it was to adequately prepare.

If you are interested in helping, please contact KC@Geaux4Kids.com or 1-800-Geaux4Kids. Join in and “Pack & Sack It” for Geaux Bags “Orphan Sunday” Nov. 4. Volunteer or donate online www.geauxbags.com Facebook/ GeauxBags. Geaux 4 Kids is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.