Kids in foster care need all the allies they can get, and they have a great one in Things of My Very Own.
This amazing New York–based non-profit helps fill some of the gaps between what kids need and what the system can provide.
Those needs are felt keenly at Christmas time, and Rayn Boncie, the charity's founder, knows it well. She went through the foster system, too.
This Christmas, she's asking people to open their hearts with a moving campaign where kids in foster care write out what they want most on a gift tag and send them out into the world.
As she wrote in a Facebook post, the kids don't ask for "the hottest toy, instead, they list innermost hopes and dreams: 'a Dad,' 'new clothes so I won't get picked on,' or something as simple as 'a comb.'"
"Every tag is connected to a child who wants to believe that someone in the world cares about their well-being," she wrote.
"For many of these children, we are the spark of hope that lights up their otherwise dark world. Many individuals and businesses have already stepped up, asking for tags; and for these children, we hope it is only the beginning."
And as heartbreaking as some of these tags are, there are great reasons for the kids to have hope.
Even just that post has already inspired wonderful acts of kindness in some people.
And to think there are thousands of kids writing up these Christmas tags this year, it's amazing to have people stepping up to try to meet their needs this holiday season.
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