NORTH BERGEN – Robert Fulton School students will pack over 120 “journey bags” with the help of teachers and staff to aid foster children in the Hudson County area on Monday, June 15 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Journey bags are backpacks consisting of new items the foster kids may need while they are going into placement.
Ellen Begbie, a 5th grade teacher and a moderator for the Ambassadors of Kindness program at Robert Fulton School, has been helping her students raise awareness for children in foster communities by fundraising to pack journey bags.
“Many enter foster care with just the clothes on their backs,” said Beigbe. “These bags help foster children know that they are loved and cared for.”
The Ambassadors of Kindness program is committed to promoting kindness throughout the school. This year, the moderators decided to take the program to another level and asked the school to get involved in order to raise awareness for the worthy cause.
The Ambassadors of Kindness and student council members have worked hard collecting donations and spreading the word about their project, and have raised over $3,500 in a short period of time. This was achieved by student collections each week, events hosted by the Parents and Teachers Organization, and a dress-down day for teachers. Mrs. Begbie’s class alone raised $400.
Prior to packing day, the classes will be invited to check out what their monetary donations have purchased.
The bags will be collected Division of Child Protection and Permanency Hudson County Area Office. The journey bags will be distributed through the Hudson County offices as needed.
Robert Fulton students pack “journey bags” for foster children
