Duffels of Dignity Donations to Fill New Children's Home Network Donation Center

Hillsborough County, Fla. (May 24, 2023) - Thanks to an amazing show of generosity by residents, Hillsborough County on Thursday, May 25, will deliver more than 160 duffels, backpacks, and suitcases stuffed with personal care items for children in foster care. The donation coincides with National Foster Care Month in May.

The Duffels of Dignity program helps children in foster care or other difficult and traumatic situations who often leave without even a bag to carry their belongings. The program partners with nonprofits throughout Hillsborough County to donate items to their clients. The Children's Home Network has been a partner since the program started, and most of the items collected through the Duffels of Dignity program are given to youth in foster care or who are temporarily housed at the Children's Services campus.

The items will be delivered to the Children's Home Network's new Donation Center at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 25, at 10909 Memorial Hwy., Tampa, FL 33615. County commissioners and the CEO of the Children's Home Network will speak.

Duffels of Dignity launched in October 2022. Thursday's delivery will be the largest in the program's history and will make an immediate impact for Hillsborough youth who need it most. In total, Duffels of Dignity will have donated an estimated 900 duffels, backpacks, and suitcases packed with much-needed items such as toothbrushes, combs, shampoo, deodorant, and more.

The program is ongoing, and donations can be dropped off Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Hillsborough County Children's Services Administrative Office, 3191 Clay Mangum Ln., Tampa, FL 33618. Duffels of Dignity also has an Amazon Wish List. Items purchased from this list will be delivered directly to the Children's Services Campus. More information is available at HCFLGov.net/DuffelsofDignity.

In addition to the Children's Home Network, organizations that have received donated goods through the Duffels of Dignity program include Metropolitan Ministries, ECHO (Emergency Care Help Organization) of Brandon, and The Spring of Tampa Bay, which helps women and their children escape domestic violence.

What: Largest-ever Duffels of Dignity donation
When: 9 a.m. Thursday, May 25
Where: 10909 Memorial Hwy., Tampa, FL 33615