Hundreds of ‘Sweet Cases' Will Go to Connecticut Foster Kids

Hundreds of Connecticut’s foster kids will soon have something to call their own as they travel to new homes.

Volunteers from Mott Corporation worked with the Wheeler Clinic on Monday to put together a special kind of overnight bag.

Assembled with love, the bags are more than just luggage they are known as 'sweet cases'.

Patty Dillon Cruikshanks is one of 15 volunteers from Mott Corporation working with the Wheeler Clinic in Plainville. Their mission is to pack foster kids with overnight bags that are better equipped for their belongings.

"Most of our kids have to travel or even go on visits with a trash bag," Sharon Pendleton-Ponzani, with the Wheeler Clinci, said.

Pendleton-Ponzani said the sweet cases will bring a sense of comfort to kids when their homes are often changing.

"By having these bags, children have something that's nice to take with them, something they can keep their belongings in and something they can call their own," Pendleton-Ponzani said.

Chris Popilowski, also with the Wheeler Clinic, said the 200 bags are packed with blankets, teddy bears, art supplies and toiletries and will soon be in the hands of some of the state’s 4,000 foster kids.

"They are going to love it, it's going to make a big smile on their face and it's really going to make a difference in their day," Popilowski said.

For volunteers like Dillon-Cruikshanks, it's a chance to take her heart off her sleeve and onto these bags.

"It's really fulfilling to do work like this," Dillon-Cruikshanks said.

The sweet cases will be delivered to foster kids in the coming days.

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