CLINTON, Iowa — For nearly eight years, Liz Estilow has been making an impact by providing duffel bags full of necessities for kids heading into foster care homes. The founder of My G.E.A.R Outreach says the bags go out to seven counties in Iowa and Illinois.
"The goal of my gear is to make sure that every child has everything they need, at least for the first 48 to 72 hours of being placed in that home," Estilow said. "I never really give a thought on the impact I make but it's always heartwarming to hear from families."
Those families include Hannah Rickertsen from Clinton County, who is a foster mother to three. She says the children often come with little to nothing and with the help from Liz, they're able to thrive as a family.
"Whether it's 6 a.m. or 11 p.m., Liz will show up and help us," Rickertsen said. "The bag has clothes, toys and so much more. It's honestly a blessing to have her in our life."
Rickertsen was inspired to become a foster parent by her husband, who was also a foster child. She hopes others will consider joining her and making an impact in these children's lives.
"There's a lot of kiddos out there that need homes to live in temporarily or permanently, that's why we need more foster homes," Rickertsen said. "I encourage everyone, who is able to, to go out and apply to be a foster parent. It's a wonderful journey."
It's what inspires Liz to continue making bags with her growing passion for children.
"Our goal is to cover as many counties as we can so that we're covering all of the kids that we possibly can," Estilow said. "It's never their fault and they pay the ultimate price. It's just anything that we can do as a community to help them, just so that they know that they're loved and supported and that they have things that are theirs... I want to give them just a little bit of hope during that traumatic period in their life."
If you are interested in making a donation to the My G.E.A.R Outreach, click here.