Jonesboro Teen Creates Nonprofit to Help Foster Children

JONESBORO – Jackson Carter quickly knew he wanted to help after his father, former legislator Davy Carter, told him there were foster children who used plastic bags to carry the few personal belongings they had when they moved.

It led to the Jonesboro High School junior and his family creating the nonprofit Carter Cases for Kids two months ago to buy suitcases for children in foster care.

“We thought it would be good to give them something of their own to carry their belongings in,” Carter said.

The nonprofit is still in the planning stages. It received its first donation – $1,000 from the American Contract Bridge League – on Monday, and Carter hopes to begin buying and distributing suitcases in the upcoming weeks.

Nicole Potts with Christian 4 Kids believes there is a need for such work.

“I would say about 75 percent of the time children come into care with absolutely nothing,” Potts said. “The state pays for some basics when they come into care. Outside of ministries that provide bags, they typically do not have bags to keep their clothes in.

“I usually keep a supply of reusable bags from TJ Maxx to put the children’s clothes in as they leave my house,” Potts added. “Hopefully where they are going they get to stay. The bags are cute and would work well as long as the children are going where they are intended to stay. However for children who will be moving more, luggage would be good.”

There are 5,195 children in foster care, according to the Arkansas Department of Human Services, the Jonesboro Sun reported. Of that number, 708 are in area eight: Clay, 34; Craighead, 178; Fulton, 40; Greene, 211; Izard, 42; Lawrence, 45; Mississippi, 68; Randolph, 40; and Sharp 50.

The state agency does not have any data on the number of children who come in with no belongings or whether they have satchels, knapsacks, etc. But, deputy chief of communications Brandi Hinkle said, “We do know they usually don’t have anything nice or durable to carry their personal items.”

“Oftentimes it’s plastic bags or boxes – whatever is convenient, abundant and not valuable – for family service workers and family members to grab hurriedly, because the situations are volatile and the children need to be moved immediately,” Hinkle said. “We do know that a child’s personal possessions become very significant during times of transition, and having a bag or backpack that can keep his or her things together and portable can mean a great deal to emotional well-being. A well-loved stuffed animal, blanket or doll smells familiar and can calm the jitters, so despite its appearance or value it can be important.

The main goal of Carter’s family is to start providing suitcases in Craighead County and expand from there. He said they want to distribute to “as many as we can.”

Suitcases will be bought for all age ranges. Initially, Carter plans to buy suitcases that are gender neutral for any age before eventually buying more age- and gender-specific ones.

Carter is still talking with DHS and other nonprofits that support foster families on distributing the suitcases. He hopes to finalize a few more details before distribution begins.

His family has made donations to benefit foster children in the past, but Carter, who is involved in his school’s Habitat for Humanity club and golf team, said Carter Cases for Kids will allow them to directly help others.

“To me, these matter because these kids have really had a rough life up to this point, and they haven’t had anything to call their own,” Carter said. “To me and you these suitcases are just an item, but to these kids it’s their own, and they can use it forever.”

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