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In Jan. 2000, when Annie Wignall was just eleven
years old, she learned from her mother (a child
abuse prevention educator) that many kids in
foster and crisis situations have to leave their
homes with nothing. She couldn’t imagine not
having her own toothbrush, toothpaste, soap or
shampoo. Seeing a need in her community and
wanting to help others overcome their
challenges, Annie came up with the idea of
filling beautiful fabric “Care Bags” with new,
donated items. “Every kid deserves to have the
things they need. I love kids and wanted to do
something to help make their lives easier and
better”, says Annie.
Annie began quietly, contacting
2 local agencies about her plan and offering to
provide 20 Care Bags every month. She recruited
volunteers to sew cloth bags and hand-delivered
letters to local businesses seeking donations of
toiletries, books, toys, and other new,
essential, safe, fun and age appropriate items.
To make distribution easy and because she never
meets the recipients, she attaches a color-coded
poem with a message of hope to each bag to say
she cares.
As news of this innovative
project spread and support for it grew through
numerous speaking engagements and media
attention, donations soared and requests from
agencies for her assistance increased
significantly. Becoming a legal, nonprofit,
charitable organization, the size and scope of
Care Bags outgrew her home. With the help of the
Mayor of Newton, a new local headquarters was
secured for storing items and filling the bags.
Annie, now 15, has received
numerous local, statewide and national awards
for her efforts, including meeting President
Bush, but she feels the best reward she could
ever get is knowing she has helped someone and
encouraged others to help too.
Now, over 3 1/2 years later,
100+ Care Bags are filled monthly and then
distributed by 30+ agencies serving displaced,
abused and disadvantaged kids (ages baby-18
years). Annie’s Care Bags are enjoyed by over
1200 kids a year worldwide (through partnerships
with international groups), to other states for
disaster relief (such as following terrorist
attacks on 9-11), and to needy kids in over 80
Iowa towns. To date Annie and her recruited
volunteers have filled nearly 5000 Care Bags.
With the help of the Care Bags 4
Kids web site ( www.carebags4kids.org ),
pamphlet and Care Bags Starter Kit (which is
available by email only), Annie has inspired
countless businesses and volunteers to donate
items and 40+ different groups have joined in
her efforts to help kids by “adopting” her idea
and starting similar projects in their own
communities and countries.
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