Soon to be site change

As many of you know Beautiful Baggage will be falling under our newly launched Beautifully Inspired nonprofit. We have our Wa state nonprofit status and are working towards a national one as well. As always we seek complete transparency in all that we do, so if you have any questions let us know.

Why the change?
Because the need of the community involved in foster care is so great and we believe that God can use our local,  state, and national people to get motivated and help the cause of those involved in foster care. The children, the foster families, the teens, the Social Workers, the bio parents. Let's work together and support. Not everyone can be a foster parent, but ALL can and SHOULD help.

What will the change look like?
It will be an addition of a variety of programs. Just like BB has taken off and is slowly becoming successful and gaining popularity. The other programs will deal with a specific area of need and seek to support it.

Will there be a website and contact info?
Yes, it is in the process of happening right now.

Looking forward to working with you in the future! 

Brooke Lamberson
http://thefosterlife.wordpress.com/

Beautifully Inspired

We are expanding!!

Good morning!

We are so happy to announce the Amazing journey God has been taking us on. Being foster parents you see the needs of kids on a daily basis, but you soon start to see something else, the struggle of foster parents. Being a foster parent is not something we take lightly, it is a mission field we felt called to do. What we have discovered is that often times, especially in the beginning it can feel as though you alone, yet you are still with all of your family and friends. You didn't go anywhere, you just took a step out, a step out in faith.

We are launching Beautifully Inspired to help surround the foster community. The kids, the foster parents, the state, and if ever needed the bio parents. We are going to be offering several different programs, including our much loved and needed Beautiful Baggage.

Stay tuned for more info about our new programs!

Many thanks

Dear you,

I am sitting here, with about 10 minutes between conferences, but I wanted to tell you all something.

 

Thank-you.

Thank-you Tri-Cities. For the bags, the toiletries.

 

For the coloring of glorious and beautiful heartfelt cards.

 

Thank- you for the donations.

 

 Thank-you Lord for putting these hands to work and blessing this mess that I am.

 

Thank-you for calling our family to this mission field.

 

Thank-You.

November Drop!!

Today we delivered ....

20 bags

And

16 backpacks!!!!

Thank-you to the many hands that crafted cards, made blankets, donated time, dropped luggage, gave toiletries, whatever you did, you. are.amazing. 

I look forward to working with many more people in the future!

Girls on the Run

God has been so faithful blessing our tiny little organization. While we see and dream big beautiful things I know we will only go as far as God will have at. 

Last week I was able to present to Girls on the Run. A group of elementary girls who do volunteer service and, well run. FOR FUN! Great gals and great teachers!! 

When I showed up I thought I was going to present about what BB did and who we are. I was shocked to see that not only did they have bags ready, but that they were making cards too!!!

Look at these sweet faces:-)

So what does BB do???

Beautiful Baggage get bags into the hands of kids in care here locally in our area. 

What do we need:

1. Bags!!! While we take a bag of any donation we prefer duffel bags. They fold nice and compact:-)

2. Toiletries and toiletry bags. 

     * think toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, hairbrush, etc.

3. Bible

5. Something cuddly- soft toy or blanket

6. We are working to get a $25 gift card for Target or somewhere in each bag.

Thanks! Have a happy weekend!!!

Tri city Americans!

So excited. Wish I had time to post more, but this will have to do for now! 

ONE conference

 

 

We will be at the ONE conference this November. Find out what you can do for your community today!

Do something beautiful

I am on lunch at work. I have 5 minutes to go pee and then meet up with other teachers again. In my 5 minutes I want to tell you this. Do something beautiful with yourself. So you are busy, so you are single, so you are a teenager, so you are a kid, so you are old, so you are a stay at home mom.....SO WHAT!!!! Do something!!!!!

Here is what I have been doing

Come to the ball! 

Find out what you can do for FOSTER KIDS AND ORPHANS IN YOUR COMMUNITY TODAY!!!

Long before I knew it.. I think I always knew...

Beautiful Baggage started years before it ever began. Is. 61:3 holds a special place in my heart. I read it the night before my Aunt Kim passed away. What God brought to me then was that there would consoling, but there would be beauty from the ashes. What I didn't realize was the big picture. What i saw was the then. And God used that verse to guide me through the then.
My Aunt Kim was to graduate college and go on to be a social worker, we were planning to turn in our paperwork and start the foster care process. Something her and I had talked about was how kids carry their stuff in trash bags. I often wondered how much that happened until I became a FP. 
Shortly after getting licensed my husband and I began throwing around the idea of Beautiful Baggage. Then one day in worship the verse came back to me. I realized how much more God had in store. 
I am excited to see how God will grow Beautiful Baggage and how we can be the hands and feet of such a much needed thing.
If you are interested in finding more about Beautiful Baggage or foster care please let me know! 

Watch the start of BB

Jr High and Outreach

So it is starting....
We are finally getting a group together and starting an outreach. With youth! I am so excited. We have made a contact within the state office to be our official rep. Someone to let us know when they need bags and to hand out fliers and let people know who and where we are and that we have stuff available. We are making contacts with other community groups to get out and have an actual physical presence in the community, for this I am so thankful for.
You see I know that the need is there, I see this at the ground level. The kids who show up at my door, or hear stories from friends of their kids showing up, no suitcases, just garbage bags and boxes. Or nothing at all. This. must. stop. We are a "civilized" country. We "take care of our children." While this might not seem that big of a deal, it is.
If you have had to move you need something that you can say is yours. A cuddly, a bag, something. I am not here to tell people, go out be a foster parent. No, not everyone should be. However, everyone can help.

How can I help? Just me?
 Donate:
 a bag
toiletries
bible
something cuddly
help us get a fundraiser going
help us get sponsors to sell shirts

Pray. Donate. Foster.

Foster care awareness

Please click here for a short video.

Happy weekend and many blessings

Foster Care Awareness Month!

We have new shirts!!! Please stop in and order. Help us reach our goal!!
http://teespring.com/beautifulbaggage2014- Mens/ unisex
http://teespring.com/bblaunch2 Women

Never been to a blog... Never fear...

So someone sent you here to find out more about BB and you are thinking, why the heck does this website have so much stuff. I don't want to read all this! Welcome to a blog friends. A constantly updated site that keeps you aware of what is going on. Over to the right hand side you can see all the entries. Check out how we started, why we started, ya know the meat and taters, the good stuff.  Always at the top of the page will be newest post to oldest. 

That's all! Happy Sunday!

Busy busy

We just got bags to three kiddos! Two more will be going out this week. Spoke with a few Social workers and reminded them that we have bags and to please call when they get kids in so the kiddo can get a bag. Or when there is a move. I can't stand kids moving their stuff in garbage bags! 

My sweet Grama is even recruiting help clear on the other side of the state so if someone over on that side wants to run a BB-west that would be amazing !

 

Redesign

Good morning friends! It has come to my attention that it might be a grand idea to have a shirt designed for both men and women. Also, when I called the company to have the web address put on the back of the tee they accidentally goofed it up, so I just decided it would be easiest for a redisgn! And while we are talking about he shirt let me explain it a bit to you as there was some confusion with how the tshirt campaign worked.

1. I design a shirt.

2. They tell me how much it costs. 

3. I decide a price, so BB can receive some money as part of the fundraising aspect:-)

4. Set a goal. Say I want to sell like 10 tshirts.

5. I have to sell my goal or the tshirts won't get made. This way BB is not out any money- which is awesome since we have 0. And the company is not out any money.

6.they make and send the shirts and send us a check equaling more great things for foster kiddos!

Have a great day!

><> B

A SHIRT

Folks we are launching a shirt...
Finally a way to let others know. know that there are people out there. As everyone knows the wearable voice is a huge one. You see it all over the place, and now Beautiful Baggage finally has a shirt. This is a place that was shown to us a way to create a shirt, At NO cost, and if the orders come, they come. If not, then not. We have NO money to put out for shirts and then hope that they sell. That is not an option, however this website is. We PRAY we make our goal. That would be an AMAZING blessing!!

http://teespring.com/beautifulbaggage

Order now only TEN days!

Calling all people....

I sat on that title for about five minutes. Yep I tried for five minutes to think of something super clever, and it didn't happen but you know what "calling all people" does really capture what I am doing. I am putting out an all call.

BB has several things that we need. Right now folks we are a one fam-show. Those folks you see in the pic, they are it.

 

We need bodies. People willing to pick up bags, run baggage drives, go get toothbrushes from dentist offices, help make connections with corporations!

 

Would even love input on t-shirt making and how to get a graphic and the best kind of graphic to put on. I know there are many talents out there, it is just a matter of waiting for God's time to bring those people into our life.

><> Beautiful Baggage