Our Programs | Foster the Love Louisiana

First Night Bags

Issue

Children often enter foster care with few or no personal items, including clothing and hygiene essentials.

Solution

Since foster parents are given limited time to prepare for the arrival of a child placed in their home, Foster the Love Louisiana seeks to make this transition easier for all, giving everyone time to adjust before having to make a trip to the store for essentials. The first few nights can be hectic and stressful for children and foster families. Our First Night Program is designed to help meet the basic needs of a child during their first nights in care as well as support foster families when accepting new placements. Our First Night Bags are reusable, overnight bags that are created specifically for children as they enter care and filled with new clothing, comfort items, and hygiene essentials.

You may donate directly to this program or organize a drive by clicking the buttons below. View our list of accepted physical donations.

Foster Community Closet

Issue

The frequent clothing purchases required to keep up with growing children often puts a strain on foster families’ finances.

Solution

Foster the Love serves approximately 40 to 50 children each month at our boutique-style closet, located at our headquarters in Broussard. In addition, we also operate three pop-up closets in St. Mary, Acadia, and Evangeline parishes, offering free gently used and new clothing for foster children year-round. We also provide seasonal essentials such as coats and uniforms. We take great pride in creating a shopping experience that allows children and youth to express their unique style and feel a sense of pride as they browse through hanging racks and select clothing tailored just for them.

We accept donations of new and gently used clothes, shoes, and baby equipment, as well as donations of unopened diapers, wipes, and formula. See the full list of what we do and don’t accept, along with a list of alternate donation locations. You may donate directly to this program or organize a drive by clicking the buttons below.

Closet Locations

Our main Broussard location’s hours of operation can be found in the footer of our site, beneath our email address. To schedule an appointment outside of our regular hours please call us at the number provided. Shopping and Drop-offs at our Pop-Up closets are by appointment only. Please contact the location you are wishing to visit for further instructions.

Broussard

Crowley Pop-Up

Berwick Pop-Up

CASA St Landry Pop-Up

Firm Foundations

Issue

A significant barrier to siblings staying together is a lack of individual beds (a requirement for placement by the state).

Solution

We help supply beds and dressers for foster families who welcome sibling sets, kinship families who open their homes to relatives placed in DCFS custody, and biological families working towards reunification.

Last year, Foster the Love successfully distributed over 50 twin beds and cribs to these families. This effort emphasizes the vital importance of keeping foster children, who have already faced significant loss, connected to their siblings, family members, and ultimately, their own parents when reunification is possible.

We accept gently used crib mattresses, cribs and twin size beds. We are unable to accept used twin size mattresses. As these are large items, please call ahead to set up a drop off time.

If you would like to donate directly to this program or are a business interested in partnering with us to provide new mattresses or furniture, please click the donate button below. You may also organize a mattress drive by clicking the organize button below.

Foster Family Events

Issue

Each year 30% to 50% of foster parents close their homes to children in foster care due to burnout, stress, lack of training and community.

Solution

Building connections within the foster community is essential for both foster parents and children. This environment allows parents to share their stories, gaining insights and ideas from others who have had similar experiences, while children get to meet others who share their journey.

Each year, Foster the Love hosts four complimentary family events aimed at enhancing connections and building a sense of community. These events, taking place during Easter, Back to School, Fall, and Christmas, each draw around 150 children in approximately 50 families. Participants can look forward to a day filled with music, games, activities, prizes, delicious food, and visits from special characters.

We wish to expand our family event program with the support of businesses and organizations throughout Acadiana. You may donate directly to this program by clicking the donate button below. If you’re interested in hosting an event or collaborating with Foster the Love to assist with venue space, food, volunteers, or special activities for our scheduled events, please click the sponsor button below.

Christmas Gift Drive

Issue

Children from challenging backgrounds may have rarely experienced the joy of presents under the tree.

Solution

Our annual Christmas Wish List Drive brings joy to over 500 children in the foster care system by providing them with Christmas gifts. Our aim is to fulfill the wish lists of every child in foster care, which currently includes around 620 children.

Each year, we send wish list forms to every foster family in the region. Foster children across Acadiana complete these forms, listing their top three desired items along with some information about their interests. These forms are then shared with individual, business and organizational sponsors, who purchase the requested items and return them to Foster the Love, where they are sorted. Foster parents can then pick up the gifts to wrap and place under the tree.

This initiative helps alleviate some of the financial pressure of Christmas for foster parents, grants Christmas wishes to foster children, and creates lasting memories for these children.

You may donate directly to this program by clicking the donate button below. If you’d like to learn more about how your business or organization can get involved, click the organize button.