Journey TOTES

About Journey Totes

Journey Totes aims to provide suitcases filled with age-appropriate personal hygiene items, school supplies, diapers, and clothing to foster youth. We strive to bring comfort, stability, and support to vulnerable children transitioning between homes or foster care placements.

The Moment We're Built For

A child is removed from home at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday. They arrive at a new placement with their belongings in a trash bag, or with nothing at all. No toothbrush. No pajamas. Nothing that belongs to them.

Three years later they turn eighteen, and the system that has decided where they live, where they goes to school, and who they can call simply stops. On their birthday, they are expected to know how to open a bank account, sign a lease, hold a job, and build a life — skills no one taught them.

Both of those moments are transitions. Both determine trajectories. And both are moments where the right support, delivered at the right time, changes what comes next.

EmpowHer exists for those moments.

Why It Matters

Youth aging out of foster care face a cliff. The formal supports that governed their childhood end abruptly, and the outcomes that follow — homelessness, unemployment, interrupted education, early parenthood, justice involvement — are well documented and widely studied.

These outcomes are not the result of a lack of ability. They are the result of gaps in access, continuity, and preparation.

EmpowHer fills the space between emergency response and long-term development. We deliver practical support at the precise moment it is needed, then stay long enough to matter.

What We Do

Immediate stabilization — meeting the moment

Journey Totes. Real suitcases, personally packed, for youth entering care or changing placements. Each contains hygiene items, clothing essentials, school supplies, and at least one comfort or literacy item chosen for that child. No child should carry their life in a trash bag.

Power a Wish. Individualized wish fulfillment for youth in care — the birthday, the instrument, the pair of cleats that says someone thought about you specifically.

Journey Forward. Long term development initiatives that include:

Financial Capability. Budgeting, saving, credit, and debt for teens and young adults, taught before the mistakes become permanent.
Career Readiness. Résumés, interview practice, professional communication, and employer connections for young people with limited networks and disrupted schooling.
Self-Confidence & Life Skills. Emotional resilience, boundary-setting, self-advocacy, and goal-setting for youth learning to see themselves as capable.
EmpowHIM. Grooming, and character development for boys and young men facing the same disruptions.
Dorm Room Makeovers
Mini Scholarship Opportunities

The FACTS

The US child welfare system invests less than half of what an average family spends per child. Journey Totes is closing this gap by providing foster youth of all ages with a suitcase full of hope to take with them on their "Journey."

The Facts

On any given day there are nearly 438,000 children and youth in foster care.
Nearly 110,000 are waiting to be adopted, waiting year after year for their forever home.
For children in foster care, the government invests less than 50% of what it costs to raise a child.
Any resource, experience or opportunity beyond a basic need is not required to be provided.
Approximately 25,000 youth age out of foster care every year and must be financially and emotionally self-sufficient by as young as 18.

"Our Impact"

Impact Statement:

Providing personalized items in a suitcase to foster children offers more than just material support—it restores dignity, fosters emotional stability, and reinforces a sense of identity during one of the most disruptive moments in a child’s life. Many children entering the foster care system carry their belongings in trash bags, a practice that can feel dehumanizing and traumatic. A thoughtfully packed suitcase filled with age-appropriate clothing, hygiene products, school supplies, and comfort items sends a powerful message: You matter.

This small yet meaningful gesture helps reduce the emotional toll of placement transitions, supports self-care and school readiness, and fosters a sense of normalcy and ownership. Over time, these suitcases serve as an entry point to healing by affirming the child’s worth and connecting them with a broader ecosystem of support. By prioritizing personalization, we not only meet basic needs—we help rewrite the narrative of what it means to be a child in foster care.

Primary Goals:

Replace dehumanizing trash bags with dignified luggage for foster youth.
Increase children’s sense of belonging and emotional security during transitions.
Strengthen foster agency and shelter partnerships for coordinated resource delivery.

Secondary Goals:

Equip children for immediate school readiness with basic supplies.
Provide hygiene and comfort items that promote self-care and well-being.

Program Initiatives:

Youth Development & Life Skills Training (emotional wellness, self-esteem)
Mental Health & Support Services (restoring self-worth)
Educational Equity (school readiness kits and literacy support for displaced youth)

Apply for a Journey Tote.

Please click on the link below to apply for a Journey Tote. We will do our best to fulfill the exact needs of the child. Due to demand, we can only fill a limited number of Journey Totes monthly. Journey Totes are filled as we receive requests. We typically try our best to fulfill a Journey Tote within 5-7 business days, but they can take up to 15-30 days.

For more information or to confirm your Journey Tote request, please get in touch with us at journey@empowherinc.org

Apply for a Journey Tote