The hardest part wasn’t finding him a home. It was getting him there.
It was a Saturday when a woman in St. James got a call. Her newborn nephew needed somewhere safe to go. So did his older sister.
She said yes.
The baby was at the hospital in Rolla. No baby goes home from the hospital without a car seat, and she didn’t have one.
She called the Fostering Hope Closet. Someone picked up.
She drove west with her niece, past the hospital where the baby was waiting, and kept going another hour to Lebanon.
Laura and Laquita met them at the Closet.
Laura is a certified child passenger safety technician. She installed an infant car seat and made sure it was ready for the baby’s first ride home.
A pack ’n play. Diapers and wipes. Clothes for a baby boy and his sister. New socks. New underwear.
Neighbors had filled those shelves. Newborns in Need sent a bag of baby essentials. Diaper Bank of the Ozarks helped keep the diapers stocked.
Then the aunt and niece headed back to Rolla to pick up the baby.
The Closet isn’t open on Saturdays. But there’s always someone on call, a network of staff and volunteers ready to meet a family at a moment’s notice, so a placement doesn’t have to wait for Monday.
In 2025, 31 car seats went home with families through the Fostering Hope Closet.
For one little boy in Rolla, the road home went through Lebanon.
In the Ozarks, this is what community looks like.
CARRY HOPE – DAY 2 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.
