Every Child Deserves a Bag of Their Own
Bags For Buddies provides new duffel bags filled with comfort and essentials to children entering foster care, replacing trash bags with dignity, hope, and a reminder that they matter.
A SEASON OF GIVING
Stockings For Buddies
Small Gifts. Big Smiles.
This holiday season, Bags For Buddies is bringing communities together to make the season brighter for children and teens in foster care.
Through Stockings For Buddies, we're working toward providing 1,000 holiday stockings filled with toys, books, personal-care items, and age-appropriate gifts for children ages 3–17. With support from individuals, businesses, schools, and volunteers, we can help more children experience the joy of being remembered.
0 of 1,000 stockings collected
One Mission. Every Community.
The next chapter of Bags For Buddies starts with you.
We're taking our mission nationwide, inviting students, community leaders, and dedicated volunteers across the United States to help bring dignity, compassion, and meaningful support to children and teens in foster care.
APPLY TO START A CHAPTERAn illustration of our vision for nationwide expansion. Map points do not represent approved chapters or existing chapter locations.
Find Your Place in the Mission.
Campus Chapters
Bring Bags For Buddies to your college or university. Build a student leadership team, engage campus organizations, and lead approved donation drives, volunteer activities, and community partnerships.
Community Chapters
Bring neighbors, businesses, schools, and volunteers together. Build a local leadership team and organize approved projects that support children and teens in foster care in your community.
Small Actions. Nationwide Possibilities.
Bag & Supply Drives
Collect bags, backpacks, school supplies, and essentials for children in foster care.
Stockings For Buddies
Support our holiday initiative through approved collections, volunteer activities, and local partnerships.
Community Partnerships
Work with businesses, schools, and organizations to expand awareness and support.
Volunteer Leadership
Recruit volunteers, coordinate approved events, and inspire meaningful community service.
Be Part of Where It All Begins.
We're accepting applications for consideration as part of our inaugural group of 10 founding chapters. Whether you're a college student ready to lead or a community organizer ready to make a difference, you could help shape the future of Bags For Buddies.
BECOME A FOUNDING CHAPTER APPLICANTFive Steps. One Mission.
Apply
Submit your chapter application.
Review
Our team reviews your proposal.
Connect
Selected applicants interview with us.
Prepare
Complete onboarding and requirements.
Launch
Begin your first approved initiative.
Your Community Could Be Next.
Every chapter begins with someone willing to lead. Help us build a national network of volunteers working toward a future where children and teens in foster care feel supported and valued.
APPLY TO START A CHAPTERApplications are subject to review and approval. Submitting an application does not authorize operation as an official chapter or use of the Bags For Buddies name.
One story.
A message that
moves people.
From navigating foster care as a child to founding Bags For Buddies and sharing his journey on Good Morning America, JackEdward Schmick brings a personal perspective to conversations about resilience, dignity, leadership, and creating meaningful change.
Available for speaking inquiries, presentations, moderated discussions, and appearances with schools, universities, nonprofits, and organizations.
Our Impact. Their Future.
Behind every number is a story. Every bag, every volunteer, and every act of kindness helps bring dignity, hope, and opportunity to children in foster care.
Replacing trash bags with dignity, one delivery at a time.
Helping foster youth feel seen, valued, and supported.
Individuals coming together to move our mission forward.
Building connections and creating impact across communities.
Supporting educational opportunities and brighter futures.
A decade of commitment to dignity, belonging, and change.
The Need Is Bigger Than A Bag
350,000+
Children experience foster care in the United States every year.
The Need Is Real. So Is Our Mission.
Foster care affects children and families across the country. Understanding the challenges they face is the first step toward creating meaningful change.
Every Community Has a Role
Children enter foster care in all 50 states. This is not a challenge confined to one city or region. It reaches communities across the country.
Young Adults Aging Out
Historically, more than 20,000 young people have aged out of foster care annually without reunification or adoption. Many face adulthood without the stable support networks others rely on.
Dignity in Every Transition
Some children entering foster care must carry their belongings in trash bags. We believe every child deserves something better: a bag of their own and the dignity that comes with it.
You Can Be Part of the Solution.
Help us replace trash bags with dignity and bring practical support to more children in foster care.
How We Make an Impact
Buddie Bag Program
From providing duffel bags to supporting education and bringing communities together, every program is designed to give foster children and teens hope and opportunity.
The Next Chapter Scholarship Program
Providing new duffel bags filled with essentials for children entering foster care.
Helping students pursue college, trade school, or career training.
Community Partnerships & Events
Working with schools, businesses, sports teams, and volunteers to expand our impact.
From A Good Idea To A National Conversation
Bags For Buddies has been featured on Good Morning America and in media outlets across the country, helping shine a light on the children behind the mission.
Have Supplies to Share? Send Them Our Way.
Every backpack, duffel bag, and essential item donated helps Bags For Buddies support children experiencing foster care transitions.
If you would like to contribute physical items, you can mail your donations directly to Bags For Buddies using the address below.
470 County Route 515
Vernon, NJ 07462
For large donations or special delivery arrangements, please contact us before shipping so we can coordinate appropriately.
Their New Beginning.
What you send can help provide a child with something to call their own.
Backpacks, duffel bags, school supplies, and other appropriate essentials.
Place your donation items in a secure shipping box or package.
Mail your package to the address above to help support our mission.