Dads who adopted two sets of siblings start a charity for foster care kids

Rob Scheer grew up in the foster care system and, when he married his husband, they knew they wanted to start a family of their own. So they took in not one, but two sets of siblings from foster care. Their family of two quickly grew to a family of six and if you don’t have a box of tissues handy, you’d better grab one, because this story isn’t over and it is truly touching.

When Scheer himself was in the foster care system, he was given a trash bag to carry his very few belongings in. When he saw his children come into his home carrying trash bags, too, he and his husband knew they had to do something about it. Which is how an already heartwarming adoption story became more than just an adoption story.

He shared the story on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show“:

[arve url=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fellentv%2Fvideos%2F10155616249937240%2F&show_text=0&width=560” /]

“40 years ago, I came in to foster care carrying a trash bag with all of my belongings,” he said. “I went to pick up [our children], and they were carrying trash bags with all of their belongings in it. I remember walking in and handing the trash bags to Reece saying, ‘this is unbelievable.'”

And that’s how Comfort Cases was born. Comfort Cases is a non-profit organization that donates duffel bags and book bags to children in foster care. These are quality bags that are filled with items that will make them feel more at home. Included in the bags are a toothbrush, a set of pajamas, shampoo and more.

[arve url=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcomfortcases%2Fphotos%2Fa.540234949386581.1073741828.539169452826464%2F1379394908803910%2F%3Ftype%3D3&width=500″ /]

“The most important thing is that we put a book in every single case. And the book is because we want them to understand—just like with our kids—it’s not the color of our skin that separates all of us, but it’s our education level. We want them to love to read,” Scheer told DeGeneres.

Comfort Cases began in 2013 and, since then, it’s donated over 22,000 bags, according to the organization’s GoFundMe page, where you can donate to the cause. They were initially striving to raise $100,000 and, at the time of this writing, they had just beat that goal!

[arve url=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcomfortcases%2Fposts%2F1392194160857318%3A0&width=500″ /]

So far, Comfort Cases has helped foster children across six states in the Washington D.C. and Virginia area, but they’re hoping to expand nationwide.

In an update posted to the GoFundMe page, they encourage anyone interested in helping them start a chapter in their state to contact Terri Stevens at tstevens@comfortcases.org.

This is a truly great cause, and Scheer and his family would surely appreciate any help you’re willing to give. So donate, start a chapter—do whatever you can to get involved.