Throughout the month of February, the New Baltimore, Michigan Ross Medical Education Center staff, faculty, and students hosted an event that supports all future foster parents. The Ross team was eager to help those families that generously give of their home, love, and time to children needing foster care. They know that these children are often facing painful and scary situations and needing all the support and normalcy they can get.
During the drive, gently used and new baby items including mattresses, changing pads, clothes, toddler chairs, socks, toiletries, diapers, toys, bouncers, and so much more were collected and donated to an amazing organization called Foster Closet of Michigan (Macomb Branch). Foster Closet of Michigan is a 501c3 nonprofit taxable organization, which run entirely by volunteers. Many of the volunteers that run the organization are foster families themselves. Foster Closet of Michigan has local branches throughout the state of Michigan and provides clothing, underclothing, toys, shoes, baby equipment, and gear and in some cases furniture to children placed in the foster care system in State of Michigan.
All donated items for Foster Closet of Michigan are new and like new items. According to the Foster Closet of Michigan website, “children are often placed in foster care with no personal items and in many cases they come into care with only the clothes on their back. This organization provides these kids with stylish new or like new clothes and personal items helping to begin the process of rebuilding their self-esteem and providing them with belongings they can call their own.”
Jennifer Maniaci, Campus Director at the Ross New Baltimore campus chose and ran this event and the entire campus participated in the collection and donation of items. Jennifer shared, “it is always rewarding to help children who are in need as well as the new foster parents who play such a huge role in these kids’ lives.”