All that came with her was a diaper bag full of socks.
It was nine o’clock at night. A caseworker handed Laura a three-month-old girl who had just been removed from her home. She was screaming. No one knew when she had last eaten.
Laura had signed up for respite care, the kind that’s planned weeks ahead. She had never cared for a baby.
She called her sister. For an hour, her sister held a baby who could not be comforted, while Laura filled a Walmart cart. Formula. Bottles. Diapers. Pajamas. A baby bathtub. Towels.
Eighteen hours later, the little girl went to live with a relative. Everything Laura bought went with her.
The next call could be a toddler. Or a teenage boy. Nothing in that cart would fit.
If every yes meant another cart like that, how many times could she say yes?
Laura began planning to stock her spare bedroom with every size, ready for whoever came through her door next.
Then she visited a friend in Tennessee who had just started fostering. Her friend showed her their community closet. What if those supplies weren’t just for Laura? What if any foster family could use them?
The Fostering Hope Closet was born.
Neighbors filled the shelves. Volunteers sorted clothes and helped families find what they needed.
And the families kept coming.
Since 2017, they’ve come from 43 Missouri counties. Foster families. Grandparents raising grandchildren. Adoptive families. Parents working to bring their children home. Families getting support so their children can stay safely at home.
The shelves are still filled by neighbors, and still emptied by families who need what’s on them.
For Laura, it started with a little girl and a diaper bag full of socks.
In the Ozarks, this is what community looks like.
CARRY HOPE | DAY 1 OF 30
For the next 30 days, discover the people, the needs, and the ways this community responds.
Follow the 30-day challenge
What you can do
Carry Hope
For 30 days in November, we are sharing one story a day about a real challenge facing children and families in the Missouri Ozarks, what is being done about it, and how you can help carry it.
Read more Carry Hope stories →Our Matching Partners
Thanks to these partners, $25,500 is waiting to match your gifts this November.
| Dr. Dawn and Dean Barker |  |  |
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Along with a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
