When children go into foster care, they sometimes have to leave their homes at a moment’s notice with all their belongings stuffed into plastic garbage bags.

Affairs of the Family and the Hoke County Open Door Soup Kitchen are working to help make a difficult, scary situation a little easier on children by holding a luggage drive. The drive seeks to collect suitcases that the children can use for their belongings when they move from one home to another.

“We’re asking for your help to provide luggage for children who did not ask to be in this situation,” a press release said. “Please help provide innocent children a sense of respectability by donating luggage. Let’s work together for our kids.”

Donations of luggage for children can be made to the soup kitchen, located at 320 Turnpike Road in Raeford between the hours of noon-3 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The luggage drive will be ongoing for the next year as organizers try to collect enough luggage to help in a five-county area that is in need of luggage for foster children.

A previous luggage drive in Hoke County proved to be very successful, Rev. Al Anderson of the Open Door Soup Kitchen said.

“We’re asking our schools, colleges and fraternities, lodges, programs and county and city leaders to help us with this initiative,” he said in an email.

For more information, contact Anderson at (404) 971-7408.