A Blue Mountains mother has turned her home into a hub for hope, assembling more than 350 suitcases annually for children entering foster care.
Since 2021, Natalie Bennett has worked tirelessly to provide children with the opportunity to enter foster homes with more than just a plastic bag and clothes on their back.
After coming across Hope in a Suitcase, a not-for-profit organisation that provides foster children with essential items to aid their transition into out-of-home care, Bennett was inspired to get involved.
“I reached out to their founder Rachael and asked if there was anything I could do to help. I started out with donating and found out that they were looking for someone to coordinate the Western Sydney area. I was happy to do it,” Bennett explained.
Bennett now spends her time coordinating donations across the Blue Mountains, Penrith, Parramatta and Liverpool, working with local communities to gather essential items and pack each suitcase with care.
“In the first couple months of this year, I have already packed 175 suitcases,” she said.
Each suitcase is thoughtfully prepared to accommodate the needs of different age groups, containing clothing, toiletries, blankets, toys and small comfort items to ease the transition into a new and unfamiliar environment.
“These kids are coming out of homes where they’re not safe and when they leave, they pretty much have nothing to take with them. For me, it’s about giving them a little something to call their own and just making sure they know that someone cares about them,” Bennett stated.
The impact of this initiative has been profound.
“We get letters from teenagers expressing how these suitcases changed their way of thinking about their lives. We have even had some kids use their pocket money to repack the suitcases and pay it forward to someone else.”
Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle praised Bennett’s efforts: “Natalie is to be commended for her generosity in supporting children going into foster care. The donations she collects will be well-used.”
Hope in a Suitcase relies entirely on donations, often from local community members, churches, and schools. While they receive regular support from the NSW Doll Collectors Club and try to gain funding through grants, the absence of government funding often creates barriers when trying to meet their goals.
“Doing this on a donation basis means we face some significant challenges. I recently had a request come in from Goulburn for a suitcase, but it was just too expensive for us to ship it down,” Bennett said.
“To have some help from the government would go a long way and would definitely make such a big difference for us.”
Visit https://www.hiasc.org.au for further information on Hope in a Suitcase and to find your closest donation point.