Cases unpack comfort for local children

September 19, 2018

Port St. Lucie -

They've been featured on Ellen, the Today Show and on news broadcasts throughout the country.

Now Comfort Cases is coming to Okeechobee & the Treasure Coast.

Communities Connected for Kids is one of the latest partners in the Comfort Case craze, which had its start eight years ago when founder Rob Scheer and his husband, Reece, became foster parents and noticed that some of the children coming to their Maryland home brought their belonging in garbage bags.

He gathered family and friends for a "packing day" and assembled the first Comfort Cases - backpacks full of pajamas, books, writing material and toiletries. The idea caught on, more packing days were planned and the project quickly grew into a 501c3 non-profit organization serving more than 40,000 youth in 39 states.

"We were so excited when our bags were delivered," said C.C. Kids Community Relations Director Christina Kaiser. "They are bright, sturdy, high-quality bags, and we can't wait to get them out to children."

Kaiser said overnight bags have been made available to children in the local foster care system for more than a decade thanks to the generosity of local donors. But Comfort Cases adds consistency to the project and expands it to more children and partners.

"We will share our bags with local protective investigators, who are usually the first responders to incidents of child abuse and neglect," Kaiser said. "They can keep a few in their cars, so they have them when they remove children from home.

Click the video above to learn more about Comfort Cases, including the assembly process, or visit, www.comfortcases.org.