Jan. 1, 1970
Nonprofit and Blue Cross team up to aid foster kids in western North Carolina
SYLVA, N.C. (WLOS) — A national nonprofit is partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield to provide hope for children entering foster care in western North Carolina.
Today, Comfort Cases and Blue Cross NC’s Healthy Blue Medicaid held a packing event at Southwest Community College in Sylva.
Volunteers filled more than 250 backpacks and duffel bags with new pajamas, blankets, books, and hygiene items. Those will be donated to local DSS agencies and nonprofits that serve foster children across the region.
State data show nearly 900 children were in foster care in western North Carolina last year.
The founder of Comfort Cases says the numbers are staggering nationwide.
“Seven hundred a day who enter foster care. Eighty percent of our death row inmates were in foster care. Twenty-two thousand children will age out of foster care. Seventy percent become homeless. We as a community, as a society, these kids deserve for us to give them hope and make sure that their future is brighter tomorrow than it is today,” Comfort Cases founder Rob Scheer said.
All of the bags packed today will stay in western North Carolina. Organizers say some could reach children entering foster care as soon as tonight.
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