How a Kansas City Nonprofit Is Replacing the Foster Care Trash Bag

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[SPEAKER_01]: And let's say her name is Tiffany.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I think Tiffany likes the great joggers over the blue joggers.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So you're gonna fold those very nicely and put them in.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Who knows if her name is Tiffany God knows, though?

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[SPEAKER_01]: One of the leaders in that organization said he's like, every organization we've worked with and passes, fizzled out within one to two years.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They're actually in the offices where the social workers work.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So they don't have to go to a separate storage area.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They don't have to worry about what to put in the bag.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They can trust that we've done more research than they even they have.

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[SPEAKER_01]: the things that no one else really wants to think about.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Pact with Purpose.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Today's episode, it's going to be a little bit different.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Typically on this show, we're going to bring incredible stories.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to talk through foster care adoption.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But today, we actually want to talk to you, our audience.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, we've got a big goal in front of us by October 31.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You guys, we are looking at building 500 count it up.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That's right, confetti on the screen.

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[SPEAKER_00]: 500 backpacks and we're going to need your help.

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[SPEAKER_01]: need a lot of help honestly.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to need a ton of help, but I believe that we can do it.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And so today we're going to tell you exactly how you can get involved in care package and bound.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to talk to you about how individuals like yourself can help.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to talk through how companies can get involved.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is actually a big part of what we do is working with organizations with companies, but we do recently rely on generosity.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And so today we wanted to share our heart with you guys.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So this is an episode that's going to be filled with some fun stories still.

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[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of great explanations.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It may be some rapid-fire questions.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We'll be able to see where it goes from here so we can put just on the spot, which is always super fun.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But today again, we are looking at building 500 backpacks by October 31st.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I want to start just with, why a backpack?

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you could kind of walk us through a reminder of what are those first moments like for a child entering foster care?

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Most people have heard of the trash bag.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And what that looks like is a child that's moving either into foster care for the first time, emergency placement, police protective custody, whatever it is, an emergency placement.

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[SPEAKER_01]: On average, if they're given any time at all to pack what they deem is necessary, then they're given a trash bag.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And it's not because our police or our social workers are cruel or anything like that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It's just the most efficient method that they have right now.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And so that child is given 10 minutes to run into their room and grab what they think is the most important things to take with them.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And I guarantee you if you ask your own child to do it, it's not going to be a toothbrush.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It's not going to be a change of clothes, it's going to be those sentimental items.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And those items are very, very important.

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[SPEAKER_01]: But when you have a child that's going into a transition and they don't have those necessary items, whether they're sitting in an office for a couple of hours and they need them then,

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[SPEAKER_01]: or they're going into a new placement, what that can cause is this anxiety not only with the child feeling that they're a burden, feeling that they could owe somebody for the items that are given to them, but also stress on the social worker to try to find those items.

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[SPEAKER_01]: There are constantly spending their own money.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We're having trouble with retention in our social workers because they're feeling under-supported.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It also causes stress within the foster family, the foster placement, whatever it is.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And that stress makes it so everyone gets into this trauma response instead of being able to emotionally respond to each other and a positive manner and build those relationships for longevity.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We have all of this high angsty emotions and so the back hacks themselves yes they're an essential item list there things that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: You would pack for your child for their first overnight stay somewhere, so we have the toothbrush, the toothpaste, the shampoo, the conditioner, the change of clothes for the next day, the pajamas, everything like that, the comfort items.

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[SPEAKER_01]: But more importantly, it's what it does in those first moments to create an emotional response that's positive.

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[SPEAKER_01]: and that it creates a time for that child to feel like we've prepared for them instead of them feeling that they're another burden or something else that they have to worry about on the system.

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[SPEAKER_01]: I was privileged enough to talk to a previous fostered care child and she ended up telling someone at school what was happening to her there was already previous strikes on the record and within 30 minutes of her telling the person at school they had social services there

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[SPEAKER_01]: event was just flustered.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And I asked her, I was like, what would this bag had done for you?

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[SPEAKER_01]: And she was like, honestly, she's like, I wasn't even thinking about things.

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[SPEAKER_01]: The whole time she was just thinking about, is this my fault?

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[SPEAKER_01]: Is this something that I did?

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[SPEAKER_01]: And in reality, she's like, as an adult, she's able to look back and go like, no, absolutely.

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[SPEAKER_01]: This is what needed to happen.

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[SPEAKER_01]: But being able to have someone prepare for you those items, and it's not something that you have to check up on your own list, whether you're the foster parent or the social worker just creates that better environment for foster children to go into something positive.

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[SPEAKER_00]: that's an awesome point because something we've heard actually from guests on this podcast before is, and if we had the backpack, guess what this does is this allows me to now have this space as we welcome in a child.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They're coming with the necessities.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not running around to need him to go to the store to buy something last minute or leaving the house or trying to gather everything that's needed.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I can now sit with this child, it can be about them, and I can just love on them, right?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Comfort them be there for them, listen to them, and so it opens up the space and the opportunity for that.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I think that that's really big.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I think the other thing that we've heard is,

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[SPEAKER_00]: Now, as a social care worker, I'm not spending my limited resources to go buy the necessities.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I can grab one of these backpacks and know that it has the necessities to be able to provide to a child.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We've got a lot of stories of that impact of actually being able to give a backpack to a child, which I think is really, really big.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's where care packaging bound comes in.

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[SPEAKER_00]: like you were talking about, right, being able to build the bags, we're building 48-hour emergency backpack.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So it's not meant to be a long-term solution, but it is meant to be able to meet a need in the first couple days.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We can eliminate all of the trauma, but we can at least try to give space, like we were just talking about, to be able to be there with the child and invest in the child instead of running around trying to get all the items.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And what you just talked about with the social workers being able to grab it and go, that was something that we ran into at the very beginning.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Because when this all got started, like our first initial thought is, okay, this is, this is being done already.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Has to be being done already.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Especially in our area.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We're in Kansas City, right?

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[SPEAKER_01]: And so we're like, where is it?

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[SPEAKER_01]: And we heard of other people with good intentions.

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[SPEAKER_01]: People with the correct heart on the matter.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And they would build bags, but without the research aspect of it.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And what would ultimately happen is those bags would be disassembled.

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[SPEAKER_01]: The items that couldn't be used would be donated or trash, which is a loss of money.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And then the other items we put into storage unit in their individual bins.

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[SPEAKER_01]: But what that creates is you have social workers that have to go to that storage area and grab all of those items build that bag which is loss of time.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And when you have an overworked individual already, they don't have time to do that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And so most of the time, they'll either grab individual items, keep it in their trunk, something like that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: But what we have the unique ability to do now is we're actually in the offices where the social workers work.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So they don't have to go to a separate storage area.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They don't have to worry about what to put in the bag.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They can trust that we've done more research than they even they have to make sure that these bags are safe.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And they can't truly grab it and go, which is another eliminating stress point for them.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They can concentrate on that child and that individual.

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[SPEAKER_00]: that means a lot for us.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So we've kind of talked about, you know, why a backpack can we get this a lot.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, I was just talking to somebody the other day that was like, Oh, this is like really good timing to talk about backpacks because it's like back to school and you're building a backpack.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Like, okay, well, yeah, we totally get that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, that's great.

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[SPEAKER_01]: That is great.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Love that.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And the backpacks, the reason that we put the items in it is actually so that they could use the backpack itself for school.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So it has a dual purpose, but the items in it and it's not intended for school.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It is intended to have all of the essentials for the first 48 hours.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, like a cool backpack.

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[SPEAKER_01]: My kids come on.

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[SPEAKER_01]: They love a cool back.

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[SPEAKER_00]: actually so my kids when when we had gotten we had just gotten a donation from an incredible company called Sheels and they donated a bunch of backpacks and there's some cool patterns on it and my kids are like, can I have one?

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[SPEAKER_00]: No, not for you.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But like that's the point is the quality kids want this kids come to the packing event and they're like can we have some of the toys that are going in here?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Like these are items that are like genuinely something that are appreciated and

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[SPEAKER_00]: cheap items and throwaways and you know it's good enough we want to make sure that the child understands that you matter that you have value.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah and we've done a ton of research on that like just even we have some opportunities for local businesses to be able to partner with us that's something we're going to touch on.

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[SPEAKER_01]: But it's not like we're like, we're going to take any jogger or we're going to take any pajamas or anything like that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We have very specific requirements on each item because we do care about what that child feels in their emotional needs.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We think about what they've gone through in trauma, so on and so forth.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And not only is that providing so that the social workers don't have to go through the bag and figure it out.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It's making sure that that child feels genuinely cared for and they'll always be able to feel that when they're pulling items on the bag.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So let's talk about the goal that we're trying to do this, this whole podcast about.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Let's do it.

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[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So between now and October 31st, we want to build 500 backpacks.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And so if you go to our website, carepackagingbound.com, you will see a counter right there on the front page.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is going to keep climbing.

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[SPEAKER_00]: My heart actually just is that we would see this go past 500, but 500 is the goal.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That gets us much closer to the overall one budget that we have for the year, but the amount of backpacks that we set out to actually build for this year that would make an

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[SPEAKER_00]: credible dent in it and getting closer and closer and believe it or not, just in the Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri area, we are actually so if we build around 2000 backpacks this year, which is our goal, we are still quite a bit short of being able to provide a backpack to every single foster youth that is either transitioning home to home or entering the system for the first time.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So we've got a lot of work to do, but this is a start, and this is a way that you can get involved individually.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It kind of don't want you to walk away from this episode, just saying, hey, you know, what a great organization, like really excited about the work that they're doing.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is an invitation for you to be able to actually be part of that work.

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[SPEAKER_00]: through this episode through actually building a backpack.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And so on our website, there's going to be three different ways that you'll see that we can we can help.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So the first one is going to be give.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The second one is going to be build, and the last one is going to be connect.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And here's the thing, you don't have to do all three.

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[SPEAKER_00]: No, you don't, well, I mean, if you want to do it, you can, you, but you don't have to go for it.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And let's just be honest here, guys.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Casey Strung, we can do this.

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[SPEAKER_01]: 500 backpacks is barely even scratching the surface for what I know what we're capable of.

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[SPEAKER_00]: absolutely.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's the invitation.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So pick one.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Pickle three if you want to.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But I want to break down what those look like.

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[SPEAKER_00]: And I want to start with give what what does give look like from an individual might be an obvious one.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But from an individual standpoint, from a corporate standpoint, we want to look at give.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So

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[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, giving, financially, that means that we can build some backpacks, right?

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[SPEAKER_00]: But also there are ways that you can give for the items themselves.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So if you are, if you're an organization that maybe you make t-shirts.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, guess what?

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[SPEAKER_00]: We put t-shirts in our backpacks.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So maybe that's a donation.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I can give that way.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you're a church group or

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[SPEAKER_00]: You're a smaller business that you only have a little bit that you can give fantastic $75 builds one backpack.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So maybe you get together and you say, you know what, I'm going to build one backpack.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That is one child that you are transforming.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You're speaking more than you can imagine to that child.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So $75 might not seem like a ton to you and might seem like a lot, but that is our ask.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Our ask is that we can build one backpack at a time.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We want to talk just a little bit more about the quality that goes into it so that any organization just that's kind of listening to this and trying to figure out what could I donate?

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[SPEAKER_00]: Can you just run through those items really quickly?

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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And just a pre-faced all of this is unfortunately with us thinking about the quality.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We have to think about the things that no one else really wants to think about.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We have to think about the things that would cause triggers and why those triggers are initially

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[SPEAKER_01]: So an example of that is I brought up the joggers.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We have joggers for kids.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We used to do leggings for our girls because they were very size inclusive It was something that we could get with good quality that we could put in the bags, but we don't do it anymore because we had a social worker come out to us and explain to this head hey just so you know

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[SPEAKER_01]: form fitting clothing on sexual assault victims can be very triggering and we have such a high number of these children that have gone through that past that we decided we were like okay got it no more leggings no more form fitting clothing we have to make sure that our kids feel comfortable we had one point in time where someone tried to donate like a bunch of tie-dye joggers and I was like do this is the only thing that they actually get to change into let's make it something that they're

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[SPEAKER_01]: the brightest person in their home.

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[SPEAKER_00]: That might fit some personality.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes it would, but I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna chance it.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna go there.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So like, we have to think about that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We have to think of, we can't be obnoxious for some reason, like larger-sized women's, they love to put them in Cheetah-Prin and Animal-Prin.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We don't do that.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We want to make sure that they feel

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[SPEAKER_01]: protected and safe.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And so all on our joggers, they're a thicker quality jogger, so there's no lines that can be seen.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We also make sure that for our girls specifically, that they're darker.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So if they run into the timer on their period, it doesn't ruin their clothes.

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[SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't cause embarrassment.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Notebooks are notebooks.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We can't do anything with spiral bound because that can be used for self harm.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And as much as that hurts our heart to imagine this can happen, we have to think of those things so that we can be intentional for our kids.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Even down to the type of pen we use.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We don't put anything with a cap on.

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[SPEAKER_01]: We always do the clicky pens because they're better when it comes to self harm purposes and preventing self harm.

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[SPEAKER_01]: And so those are just a few of the items that we do.

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[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I can go into every single item in depth.

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[SPEAKER_01]: Even the fidgets that we choose, we work with a couple different psychologists, friends, and of course those that actually are on the ground with these kids, where we get those approved by these workers to make sure that there's something that can be useful.

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[SPEAKER_01]: something that the kids will enjoy, but also not something they could use as a weapon against themselves or others.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So we think about all of these items, so that when a company or a youth group or an individual, they can come in, they can experience the joy of packing these bags and not have to dip their toes into the darkness quite so quickly.

15:57.188 --> 15:57.628
[SPEAKER_01]: But we,

15:58.088 --> 16:09.719
[SPEAKER_01]: also are able to make it so when these businesses come and they partner with us, they're able to touch and experience the intentionality for these kids, and it just brings it so much closer, it really does.

16:10.200 --> 16:22.792
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's a good point because we want a child to open a backpack, and one of the thoughts that I would love for them to have is, wow, this was prepared for me, not just thrown together,

16:23.390 --> 16:44.061
[SPEAKER_00]: But intentionally packed with purpose, a little plug there and yeah, but it was but it was it was prepared for me and we do that because where we are intentionally packing each of these at every single event where we're having everybody slow down and really think through the child that they're packing this for even though they haven't met them yet like.

16:44.841 --> 16:46.022
[SPEAKER_00]: put a name to it.

16:46.042 --> 16:47.343
[SPEAKER_00]: That's one of my favorite parts.

16:47.623 --> 16:48.064
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

16:48.204 --> 16:48.764
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

16:48.804 --> 16:49.145
[SPEAKER_00]: Love it.

16:49.185 --> 16:50.146
[SPEAKER_01]: There's something about it.

16:50.186 --> 16:54.429
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, when we're we're more describing these events, and we'll go back into it, but we lay everything out.

16:54.950 --> 17:00.674
[SPEAKER_01]: And then when someone's going through the, you know, quote unquote assembly line for it, we encourage them as they pick up their bag.

17:00.694 --> 17:01.695
[SPEAKER_01]: It has a tag on it.

17:02.136 --> 17:05.859
[SPEAKER_01]: And that tag's going to show the gender or the size and the age of that child.

17:06.699 --> 17:09.101
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're going like, okay, so you have a little girl

17:14.036 --> 17:19.140
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, Tiffany, you know that she wears an extra small and she's a teenager, so you're gonna go to the next item and it's gonna be joggers.

17:19.180 --> 17:22.143
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think Tiffany likes the gray joggers over the blue joggers.

17:22.203 --> 17:22.343
[SPEAKER_01]: So.

17:22.720 --> 17:24.621
[SPEAKER_01]: You're going to fold those very nicely and put them in.

17:24.661 --> 17:27.442
[SPEAKER_01]: And Tiffany is going to like this purple shirt.

17:27.903 --> 17:29.684
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I'm going to put that in for her.

17:30.364 --> 17:34.706
[SPEAKER_01]: And Tiffany is, she's really struggling in math, but she really wants to be a doctor someday.

17:35.046 --> 17:39.168
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we're going to make sure that we pick this notebook for her because she's going to like it a lot.

17:39.869 --> 17:44.311
[SPEAKER_01]: And so on and so forth is you build this relationship, this intentionality with a child.

17:44.873 --> 17:49.756
[SPEAKER_01]: And it becomes something so much more than just shoving items in a bag and hoping that it gets to somebody.

17:50.176 --> 17:53.818
[SPEAKER_01]: You're intentionally building for that child.

17:53.878 --> 17:56.479
[SPEAKER_01]: And who knows if her name is Tiffany God knows, though?

17:56.800 --> 18:02.763
[SPEAKER_01]: And I truly believe that these children feel, in fact, I have heard a story back one time.

18:02.823 --> 18:04.384
[SPEAKER_01]: We had a social worker call us.

18:05.144 --> 18:09.127
[SPEAKER_01]: And they called me up and it wasn't any of my our contacts.

18:09.167 --> 18:16.173
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just a random social worker, and they asked, they're like, Miss Jessica, what do you put in these bags?

18:16.373 --> 18:20.736
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was panicked at first because I was like, I don't know what do we put in these bags?

18:21.076 --> 18:23.158
[SPEAKER_01]: I was kind of scared that we did something wrong.

18:23.698 --> 18:28.442
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, just expecting the worst and she was like, I'd never seen a child calm down like that before.

18:29.323 --> 18:38.820
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was able to tell her, I was like, oh, that's not stuff, that's not stuff, that's intentionality, that's prayer, that's God, that's what's in these bags that truly makes it different.

18:39.525 --> 18:41.267
[SPEAKER_00]: That's, um, thanks for sharing that.

18:41.887 --> 18:43.949
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what you guys can be a part of, right?

18:44.029 --> 18:58.362
[SPEAKER_00]: So as an organization as a company, I would encourage you to share this, go to HR, go to your boss and say, hey, you know what, maybe we do a team building activity, um, which is going to bring us into the next part.

18:58.703 --> 19:01.365
[SPEAKER_00]: But before we get into the build portion of this,

19:01.585 --> 19:02.906
[SPEAKER_00]: here's my challenge to you.

19:03.186 --> 19:07.028
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're listening and you're able to give, I want you to go to our website now.

19:07.048 --> 19:29.281
[SPEAKER_00]: You can leave the podcast on go to our website carepackagingbound.com maybe you build one backpack maybe you build five maybe your family decides to build 10 or maybe you are a business listening to this and you're thinking and you know what we could build a whole bunch of these backpacks please do every backpack matters or goal is 500.

19:29.641 --> 19:30.902
[SPEAKER_00]: It leads us into

19:31.502 --> 19:36.448
[SPEAKER_00]: I think my favorite way to get involved, which is that build aspect of it.

19:36.648 --> 19:38.750
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, we've talked to a very specific owners.

19:39.451 --> 19:42.755
[SPEAKER_00]: We've talked of organizations of companies.

19:42.995 --> 19:47.480
[SPEAKER_00]: We've got some great connections there where we've been able to do annual like Christmas.

19:47.500 --> 19:48.041
[SPEAKER_00]: We've got one.

19:49.182 --> 19:49.943
[SPEAKER_00]: That is so much.

19:50.343 --> 19:59.229
[SPEAKER_00]: one of my favorite events of the year that we do every single year, they decide as a company, you know, we're going to give back and our Christmas party, we're actually going to build back packs.

19:59.249 --> 20:03.031
[SPEAKER_00]: So we built like 210 backpacks every single year with them.

20:03.771 --> 20:07.313
[SPEAKER_00]: It is pretty much a pyjama party and it is a blast.

20:07.454 --> 20:11.956
[SPEAKER_00]: But just, you know, we've talked a little bit about the actually the packing event and how that works.

20:11.976 --> 20:16.419
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you just explain just really quickly how can an organization get involved?

20:16.619 --> 20:17.340
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely.

20:17.420 --> 20:19.001
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's several different levels.

20:19.261 --> 20:27.168
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'll explain like what a packing event actually looks like, but also just like what the cost association would be because that's what everyone's first question.

20:27.188 --> 20:40.439
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, how much is going to cost me to get in and it used to be that we would only be able to do these huge packing events where we bought everything in bulk, but now we're we're starting to get enough connections enough enough people involved that we're actually able to do smaller packing events.

20:40.539 --> 20:42.461
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm so excited for it.

20:42.581 --> 20:43.762
[SPEAKER_01]: So our our smallest

20:44.342 --> 20:45.262
[SPEAKER_01]: Big packing event.

20:45.382 --> 20:47.423
[SPEAKER_01]: I should say our smallest big packing event.

20:47.743 --> 20:48.263
[SPEAKER_01]: Does that make sense?

20:48.844 --> 20:53.325
[SPEAKER_01]: Is 50 backs and what that looks like is it's $3,500.

20:53.485 --> 20:56.106
[SPEAKER_01]: And let's say, let's say you're insurance.

20:56.206 --> 20:57.406
[SPEAKER_01]: You're an insurance company, right?

20:57.567 --> 20:58.547
[SPEAKER_01]: And you have

20:59.641 --> 21:02.143
[SPEAKER_01]: 20 big clients, obviously you're going to have more than that.

21:02.163 --> 21:03.363
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's say you have 20 big clients.

21:03.704 --> 21:19.193
[SPEAKER_01]: You could take those 20 big clients out, take their spouses out, take them for a steak dinner, something like that, and you're going to spend well over $3,500 on those 20 clients, or you could show them the heart of what your company actually stands for.

21:19.774 --> 21:23.196
[SPEAKER_01]: You could take them back to your office, which is where you want them in the first place.

21:23.536 --> 21:28.497
[SPEAKER_01]: and you're going to take them back to your office and they're going to build 50 bags with your company.

21:29.097 --> 21:34.239
[SPEAKER_01]: And the benefits on the actual written part of that is that's a completely tax deductible.

21:34.379 --> 21:34.579
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.

21:34.739 --> 21:37.500
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, which the state dinner I probably isn't, I don't know if it is or not.

21:37.640 --> 21:46.042
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's completely tax deductible, but also you're really showing the intentionality of what your company stands for, who you care for and invest in in your community.

21:46.402 --> 21:48.083
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's the 50 bag part.

21:48.103 --> 21:50.605
[SPEAKER_01]: You can do that if you have just a couple employees too.

21:50.645 --> 21:53.687
[SPEAKER_01]: Say your coffee shop, something like that, where you're going to like, you know what?

21:53.807 --> 21:56.388
[SPEAKER_01]: Our annual thing is we do a bag building event.

21:56.789 --> 21:59.030
[SPEAKER_01]: And we actually got a survey from that one company.

21:59.130 --> 22:00.751
[SPEAKER_01]: They do the Christmas party.

22:00.771 --> 22:01.972
[SPEAKER_01]: The Christmas party.

22:01.992 --> 22:03.193
[SPEAKER_01]: And they have quite a few employees.

22:03.233 --> 22:08.756
[SPEAKER_01]: And so they did a survey without us asking on who was their favorite nonprofit event every year.

22:08.897 --> 22:12.339
[SPEAKER_01]: And we won by a landslide because we are so much fun.

22:12.519 --> 22:14.060
[SPEAKER_00]: The events are actually a blast.

22:14.100 --> 22:14.820
[SPEAKER_01]: It's so much fun.

22:16.125 --> 22:17.666
[SPEAKER_01]: It's something that you can find meaning in.

22:18.386 --> 22:19.807
[SPEAKER_01]: So the next step up is a hundred.

22:20.228 --> 22:22.769
[SPEAKER_01]: And so a hundred bags costs around $7,000.

22:22.809 --> 22:27.232
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's a slightly bigger company or a youth group, something like that.

22:27.252 --> 22:29.093
[SPEAKER_01]: Or you can have 210.

22:29.253 --> 22:33.936
[SPEAKER_01]: So when we get 210, we actually are able to squeeze and 10 extra bags out of that.

22:34.016 --> 22:35.457
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's pretty cool, but that's $15,000.

22:35.497 --> 22:36.438
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's a big one.

22:37.158 --> 22:38.899
[SPEAKER_01]: And we can build even more than that.

22:38.959 --> 22:41.201
[SPEAKER_01]: But usually those are kind of like our starting off.

22:41.281 --> 22:43.442
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you have a company and you're like, we want to build 500 bags.

22:44.843 --> 22:45.724
[SPEAKER_01]: We're not stopping you.

22:46.264 --> 22:46.524
[SPEAKER_01]: Do it.

22:47.185 --> 22:47.885
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.

22:48.025 --> 22:56.011
[SPEAKER_00]: And to add clarification to I think something that sets us apart is actually the company we keep coming back to that has the Christmas party.

22:56.031 --> 23:04.077
[SPEAKER_00]: They did something similar to this in the past, but here was the difference is the organization that they worked with and I'm sure that they were an incredible organization.

23:05.178 --> 23:20.110
[SPEAKER_00]: They would say, okay, I want you to order all of the supplies, it will get shipped to your office and then you build them and then you drop them off to us for the event that what sets us apart is all you need to do is write the check.

23:20.890 --> 23:35.136
[SPEAKER_00]: we will with our standards get all of the items we will bring them to you set up for the event host the event in a space that works for you and all you need to do is bring your team to it.

23:35.856 --> 24:00.292
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's just an incredible thing like like just you were saying you could spend that money on dinner you could spend that money on a lot of other things that that definitely I think Foster's team building and there's going to be some great community that happens Absolutely, but there's really kind of nothing else in my opinion than looking at all of the bags that we've built and being able to say as a team we did that we built that

24:01.299 --> 24:17.557
[SPEAKER_00]: Our team made a difference and not a distant difference, but right here in our city, we made a difference and you can do that through being able to give to build and that leads us to our last one of connect.

24:18.277 --> 24:20.218
[SPEAKER_00]: How do we connect?

24:20.418 --> 24:21.738
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you don't have the funds.

24:21.838 --> 24:26.139
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that's not something that you can do right now Maybe you don't have a connection with the items.

24:26.219 --> 24:41.383
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you are self-employed and you don't have or you work remotely for an organization That's not local and so the first two options don't fit easily in your ability But I believe that everybody knows somebody honestly.

24:41.443 --> 24:43.504
[SPEAKER_00]: We have made our biggest

24:44.444 --> 25:00.381
[SPEAKER_00]: steps forward as an organization, just through random conversations, what scene like random conversations that lead to a connection that leads to another connection that transforms the way that we're able to support the foster care system.

25:00.421 --> 25:05.486
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think connection is so valuable and just giving us that referral.

25:06.043 --> 25:07.124
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely agree.

25:07.144 --> 25:10.767
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that some of our best partnerships have started with those introductions.

25:10.827 --> 25:14.449
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's definitely, like, as you said, it's really random.

25:14.569 --> 25:20.033
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I'll run into people where and all of these connected groups and amazing, amazing people.

25:20.334 --> 25:23.396
[SPEAKER_01]: But you never know who you're going to run into, where you go, like, yeah, this is what we do.

25:23.416 --> 25:25.758
[SPEAKER_01]: This is what we're trying to achieve, and they go, you have to meet this person.

25:25.998 --> 25:26.218
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

25:26.458 --> 25:29.460
[SPEAKER_01]: Or, oh, my gosh, I need to introduce you to this company or something like that.

25:29.500 --> 25:33.383
[SPEAKER_01]: And so even if, for some reason, you sit back and I'm always having on this.

25:35.925 --> 25:39.467
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, somebody needs to introduce them to this or somebody needs to do something about that.

25:39.527 --> 25:44.310
[SPEAKER_01]: Please remember that you are somebody that you have value in this connection in this space.

25:44.950 --> 25:48.012
[SPEAKER_01]: And so don't underwrite yourself on that kind of stuff.

25:48.072 --> 25:51.174
[SPEAKER_01]: You're valuable in what you bring to the table.

25:51.695 --> 25:58.419
[SPEAKER_01]: If it's five dollars, if it's a connection, if it's prayer, please do it with intention.

25:59.019 --> 26:00.520
[SPEAKER_01]: And know that we want you here.

26:00.984 --> 26:25.036
[SPEAKER_00]: some of our very best partnerships started with just an introduction and it was just hey I know like you were saying I know somebody and I think you guys should connect and so we set up a text thread really quickly or an email or whatever that is so maybe you know a business owner maybe you work for a company that has a charitable giving program maybe you're a church that's looking

26:27.157 --> 26:27.657
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, hi.

26:28.978 --> 26:29.859
[SPEAKER_01]: Where's some youth group?

26:29.879 --> 26:33.862
[SPEAKER_01]: We had a really cool church event where we had over a hundred people building bags with us.

26:33.962 --> 26:35.803
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was amazing.

26:35.903 --> 26:36.604
[SPEAKER_01]: It was amazing.

26:36.624 --> 26:38.385
[SPEAKER_00]: There were pictures on a website.

26:38.405 --> 26:39.165
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, there were pictures.

26:39.426 --> 26:48.232
[SPEAKER_00]: But I would say, look, you guys don't need to necessarily, maybe you're nervous about bringing this to somebody because you're like, I don't know enough about the organization.

26:48.912 --> 26:51.393
[SPEAKER_00]: look, you don't need to sell care package inbound.

26:51.573 --> 26:59.156
[SPEAKER_00]: I would say just send whoever this video make an introduction, just that connection can move mountains.

26:59.416 --> 27:04.298
[SPEAKER_00]: And so please share this episode, please go talk to whoever that you're thinking of.

27:04.338 --> 27:10.620
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure there's somebody that just popped into your mind or just send us an email with their contact information and we will take it from there.

27:10.860 --> 27:14.242
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and what's beyond is this is the time frame of sharing.

27:14.302 --> 27:16.183
[SPEAKER_01]: I share so much with my people.

27:16.544 --> 27:22.327
[SPEAKER_01]: So you can either send them this episode, you can send them a clip, you can send them the website.

27:22.367 --> 27:29.952
[SPEAKER_01]: There's also emails like there's so many different things that you can do to just kind of spread the word and just make sure that it's out there.

27:30.032 --> 27:34.455
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, this is a whole community thing that we are coming together to build.

27:34.835 --> 27:37.257
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't hesitate, I guess, is what we're going for.

27:37.834 --> 27:40.535
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, ready to take a break and have just a little bit of fun really quickly.

27:41.295 --> 27:45.637
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, we'll rapid fire questions, yes, here's the thing, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions.

27:45.917 --> 27:47.638
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't worry, these aren't crazy questions.

27:47.698 --> 27:48.898
[SPEAKER_01]: Weird questions, man.

27:48.978 --> 27:50.739
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, okay, fair.

27:50.779 --> 27:53.380
[SPEAKER_00]: There might have been one episode that was a little bit awkward.

27:53.540 --> 27:55.741
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, I'm not going to say which one.

27:55.801 --> 27:57.801
[SPEAKER_00]: You can go back and just try to listen to them.

27:59.382 --> 28:01.025
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to start blushing again for that one.

28:02.146 --> 28:03.808
[SPEAKER_00]: But this one is, I just don't want you to think about it.

28:03.849 --> 28:04.930
[SPEAKER_00]: Just have some fun with it.

28:05.311 --> 28:06.933
[SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to jump into it.

28:06.993 --> 28:08.435
[SPEAKER_00]: Question number one, you're ready for this?

28:08.655 --> 28:10.939
[SPEAKER_00]: OK. What is your favorite part of the packing event?

28:11.951 --> 28:15.352
[SPEAKER_01]: Ooh, that's hard, I have so much energy.

28:15.552 --> 28:18.453
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I worry so much up until we do it like time.

28:18.713 --> 28:23.395
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm so, and then the day of the packing in that, I don't know, I'm just filled with so much joy.

28:23.415 --> 28:24.996
[SPEAKER_01]: And so is everybody else.

28:25.016 --> 28:26.836
[SPEAKER_01]: Like it's just this vibe, the whole time.

28:27.177 --> 28:34.759
[SPEAKER_01]: And I don't care if we're folding blankets together, or socks, or whatever it is we're folding, or I'm running along talking to people making sure everything goes well.

28:35.300 --> 28:35.700
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just,

28:36.840 --> 28:41.166
[SPEAKER_01]: a joyful event the whole time and I am like bouncing off walls with energy.

28:41.226 --> 28:41.727
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

28:41.807 --> 28:44.250
[SPEAKER_01]: That's probably it besides that, probably naming the kids.

28:44.530 --> 28:44.951
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

28:44.971 --> 28:52.161
[SPEAKER_01]: That's probably my second favorite, but just honestly the overall vibe, we've never had a packing event where it hasn't been a blast.

28:52.241 --> 28:52.801
[SPEAKER_01]: A blast.

28:52.841 --> 28:53.022
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

28:53.362 --> 29:02.153
[SPEAKER_01]: which is crazy, you know, and it's just that, I don't know, just joyful, belonging in helping those around you that it's just an act awesome.

29:02.173 --> 29:05.056
[SPEAKER_00]: The ability to make a difference brings joy.

29:05.076 --> 29:05.597
[SPEAKER_00]: That's great.

29:05.717 --> 29:05.977
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

29:06.538 --> 29:06.999
[SPEAKER_00]: Next question.

29:07.019 --> 29:07.339
[SPEAKER_00]: Here we go.

29:08.000 --> 29:12.706
[SPEAKER_00]: What is something that people would be surprised to learn about CPI?

29:13.166 --> 29:14.428
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, that's a hard question.

29:14.448 --> 29:21.575
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I think the thing that everyone always is surprised about is just the amount of intentionality that we put in everything.

29:22.116 --> 29:28.683
[SPEAKER_01]: Because like people will be like, oh yeah, yeah, you create bags and then we're like, yeah, but we also have done this but research.

29:28.763 --> 29:39.809
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, and like the amount of intentionality between, even like the layering of items in the bags, we have intentionality in which items go where and which item the child is going to see first.

29:40.389 --> 29:47.073
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's probably the thing that most people are the most surprised about, and the fact that we've been around as long as we have, I think, is the second

29:47.633 --> 29:53.839
[SPEAKER_01]: Because we've been around, so the initial concept, I say concept, was me thinking about this in my teaching.

29:53.939 --> 29:54.139
[SPEAKER_01]: 2017.

29:54.159 --> 29:54.620
[SPEAKER_01]: 2017.

29:54.660 --> 29:55.801
[SPEAKER_01]: And then bringing up to you.

29:55.821 --> 29:57.222
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

29:57.262 --> 29:57.702
[SPEAKER_01]: 2017.

29:57.763 --> 30:01.846
[SPEAKER_01]: And then we've been a 501c3 since August of 2019.

30:01.886 --> 30:02.067
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.

30:02.107 --> 30:02.347
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

30:02.587 --> 30:10.234
[SPEAKER_01]: So we've been around for a long time, which is actually opening up a lot of doors, because there's a lot of places that won't work with you unless you've been around for five or six years.

30:10.274 --> 30:10.735
[SPEAKER_01]: And guess what?

30:11.035 --> 30:11.455
[SPEAKER_01]: We have.

30:11.535 --> 30:11.736
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

30:13.098 --> 30:16.904
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that that's a wall that a lot of places actually hit.

30:17.004 --> 30:26.880
[SPEAKER_01]: We work with GIAC, which is I think juvenile intake and assessment, I might be wrong on the exact acronym, but that's the police on the Kansas side that work with the children.

30:27.425 --> 30:34.352
[SPEAKER_01]: And one of the leaders in that organization said, he's like, every organization we've worked with in the past is fizzled out within one to two years.

30:34.872 --> 30:38.015
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's like, but you have been the most consistent.

30:38.576 --> 30:39.697
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's really cool.

30:39.937 --> 30:41.959
[SPEAKER_01]: So anyways, next question, next question, guys.

30:41.979 --> 30:44.121
[SPEAKER_00]: What is the craziest thing you've ever eaten?

30:46.524 --> 30:48.065
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, I ate scorpions in Mexico once.

30:48.265 --> 30:49.226
[SPEAKER_00]: That is amazing.

30:49.447 --> 30:50.708
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it was a scorpion talk.

30:51.714 --> 30:55.317
[SPEAKER_01]: I had grasshopper in Mexico when- Well, they make crickets tacos, but I was being well-known.

30:55.497 --> 30:56.478
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah.

30:56.518 --> 30:57.038
[SPEAKER_00]: They were down.

30:57.058 --> 30:58.279
[SPEAKER_01]: They were fried.

30:58.680 --> 30:59.540
[SPEAKER_00]: It was like- Not life.

31:00.661 --> 31:03.844
[SPEAKER_00]: Just tasted like I bit into a clove of garlic.

31:04.164 --> 31:06.526
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, because it was just garlic powder, essentially.

31:06.546 --> 31:07.307
[SPEAKER_00]: Why wasn't that bad?

31:07.367 --> 31:10.189
[SPEAKER_01]: I was just fried, and it was very crunchy.

31:10.489 --> 31:11.830
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, see, I would have been okay with that.

31:11.930 --> 31:12.291
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

31:12.491 --> 31:14.292
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, last question for you, Jess.

31:14.532 --> 31:19.997
[SPEAKER_00]: If somebody handed CPI $100,000 total, what's the first thing that you would do?

31:20.960 --> 31:23.204
[SPEAKER_01]: We're so backed up on backfacts that they're needed.

31:23.244 --> 31:24.005
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you kidding me?

31:24.025 --> 31:25.608
[SPEAKER_00]: That could be a sound button as well.

31:25.628 --> 31:26.569
[SPEAKER_00]: Just so backed up.

31:26.689 --> 31:27.932
[SPEAKER_00]: Which way are we going?

31:27.952 --> 31:28.252
[SPEAKER_01]: You go.

31:28.292 --> 31:29.294
[SPEAKER_01]: How many bags we need to make?

31:29.354 --> 31:29.754
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh my gosh.

31:29.774 --> 31:30.656
[SPEAKER_01]: We say 500.

31:30.696 --> 31:31.437
[SPEAKER_01]: But let's be honest.

31:31.457 --> 31:31.898
[SPEAKER_01]: This is.

31:33.377 --> 31:41.824
[SPEAKER_01]: On average, in Missouri and in Kansas, we have between 14,000 children in Missouri and 78,000 children in Kansas.

31:41.845 --> 31:44.367
[SPEAKER_01]: So let's just round it up and say there's 20,000 children, right?

31:44.747 --> 31:47.830
[SPEAKER_01]: That's just counting the children that are currently in care, right?

31:48.230 --> 31:57.678
[SPEAKER_01]: At any given time, that's not counting children that are going into police protective services, it's not counting those affected by human trafficking, and it's not counting how many transitions those children make.

31:58.218 --> 32:01.420
[SPEAKER_01]: So I always tell people, like, that's 20,000 times this and this and this and this.

32:01.600 --> 32:08.285
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm thinking we need to make, for those two states, 80,000 backpacks a year to even really cover it.

32:08.945 --> 32:10.486
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're just trying to make two.

32:10.926 --> 32:12.827
[SPEAKER_01]: We're just trying to make two right now.

32:13.308 --> 32:21.193
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think that we can really come together and consistently make sure that we change the demographic of foster care.

32:21.493 --> 32:21.653
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

32:21.833 --> 32:30.377
[SPEAKER_01]: But we need to come together as a people, not just a city, but a people to change what these moments look like for these children.

32:30.657 --> 32:30.857
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

32:31.177 --> 32:32.178
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's my goal.

32:32.658 --> 32:36.860
[SPEAKER_01]: I would spend every single penny on creating more bags for these kids.

32:37.300 --> 32:38.281
[SPEAKER_00]: All right, I've asked my questions.

32:38.682 --> 32:39.002
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.

32:39.042 --> 32:39.903
[SPEAKER_01]: Now I got that.

32:39.943 --> 32:40.904
[SPEAKER_01]: You wrote them down.

32:40.924 --> 32:41.805
[SPEAKER_01]: I got to think about them.

32:42.126 --> 32:45.169
[SPEAKER_01]: You wrote me down some like, maybe thinking about it.

32:45.229 --> 32:45.990
[SPEAKER_01]: Kind of questions.

32:46.050 --> 32:48.333
[SPEAKER_00]: You can go up with whatever questions you want.

32:48.413 --> 32:51.917
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you had this one where you're like, who's more organized, just or crisp.

32:51.937 --> 32:53.699
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm like, you just want to do your own heart.

32:54.860 --> 32:56.522
[SPEAKER_00]: Just throw out some suggestions.

32:57.043 --> 32:58.525
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't blame me for being organized.

32:58.565 --> 33:01.609
[SPEAKER_01]: You can tell just by the podcast to more organized.

33:01.649 --> 33:02.570
[SPEAKER_01]: Who wrote the list?

33:02.630 --> 33:04.453
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh my gosh.

33:05.194 --> 33:08.458
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, what is the biggest mistake you've ever made it or packing in it?

33:08.558 --> 33:09.520
[SPEAKER_01]: I like that question.

33:09.940 --> 33:13.403
[SPEAKER_00]: biggest mistake leaving you in charge.

33:13.503 --> 33:18.907
[SPEAKER_00]: No, not checking the bags during one of our first event.

33:18.967 --> 33:20.388
[SPEAKER_01]: Are very first events.

33:20.448 --> 33:20.628
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.

33:20.648 --> 33:22.169
[SPEAKER_00]: And we didn't know to do that.

33:22.229 --> 33:23.871
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, and we decided are very first event.

33:23.911 --> 33:25.432
[SPEAKER_01]: We've wanted so much just so you know.

33:25.752 --> 33:27.894
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't take this against us, but are very first event.

33:27.914 --> 33:30.936
[SPEAKER_01]: We decided to do inventory right before the event.

33:30.956 --> 33:32.217
[SPEAKER_00]: That was a huge mistake.

33:32.417 --> 33:33.419
[SPEAKER_01]: was awful.

33:33.479 --> 33:34.680
[SPEAKER_01]: We do not do that anymore.

33:34.720 --> 33:36.182
[SPEAKER_01]: We come with very professional now.

33:36.283 --> 33:45.035
[SPEAKER_01]: And we also have like so many checkpoints within our systems now to make sure that the correct items and the correct number of items go in each and every bag.

33:45.115 --> 33:46.697
[SPEAKER_01]: But that first one was roof.

33:47.118 --> 33:47.198
[SPEAKER_00]: We

33:47.458 --> 33:51.142
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, a lot to learn, so I would say that that was probably the biggest mistake that comes to mind.

33:51.202 --> 33:53.725
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but now I mean, that's experience for you.

33:53.765 --> 33:54.385
[SPEAKER_01]: That's how it works.

33:54.425 --> 33:58.670
[SPEAKER_01]: So, which is another example of why there's so many people who are like, why can build this many bags?

33:58.750 --> 33:59.611
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure you can.

33:59.771 --> 33:59.951
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

34:00.151 --> 34:02.914
[SPEAKER_01]: But why put yourself through the stress of the research we can do it for you?

34:03.214 --> 34:08.480
[SPEAKER_01]: And we can make sure that all of your money goes to the appropriate use in the appropriate spaces.

34:08.640 --> 34:09.401
[SPEAKER_00]: So, be amazing.

34:09.721 --> 34:09.901
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

34:10.281 --> 34:10.601
[SPEAKER_00]: Cool.

34:11.041 --> 34:12.382
[SPEAKER_01]: So, well, hold on.

34:12.482 --> 34:13.542
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to ask another one.

34:13.562 --> 34:16.943
[SPEAKER_01]: Let me thank, let me thank, let me thank, let me thank, let me thank.

34:17.403 --> 34:19.304
[SPEAKER_01]: You got like serious ones that you put down here.

34:19.744 --> 34:21.464
[SPEAKER_00]: You can make up anyone's that you want.

34:21.744 --> 34:23.225
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to, what about the company?

34:23.385 --> 34:29.526
[SPEAKER_01]: I was like, if you could get one company in Kansas City to call us tomorrow, who would be company or celebrity?

34:30.967 --> 34:31.387
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

34:31.667 --> 34:33.027
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to call you guys out, guys.

34:33.067 --> 34:33.988
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, share this.

34:38.929 --> 34:39.369
[SPEAKER_01]: everybody.

34:39.389 --> 34:41.410
[SPEAKER_00]: Do let's see who I'm coming.

34:41.710 --> 34:43.071
[SPEAKER_00]: Ted Lasso, right?

34:43.351 --> 34:44.191
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, okay.

34:44.511 --> 34:45.472
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's Kansas City.

34:45.492 --> 34:46.492
[SPEAKER_00]: He does a lot here.

34:46.572 --> 34:48.613
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that this would be on his heart for sure.

34:48.653 --> 34:53.234
[SPEAKER_01]: So what about the guy that we asked the Ant one?

34:53.815 --> 34:54.175
[SPEAKER_00]: Ant man.

34:55.035 --> 34:55.435
[SPEAKER_00]: Paul Ride.

34:55.475 --> 34:56.216
[SPEAKER_01]: Paul Ride.

34:56.236 --> 34:57.676
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, both from Kansas City.

34:57.716 --> 34:58.136
[SPEAKER_00]: There you go.

34:58.156 --> 34:58.376
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

34:58.396 --> 34:59.557
[SPEAKER_00]: So there's two some leverage.

34:59.577 --> 35:02.478
[SPEAKER_01]: Shut up in the same neighborhood as I'm in right now.

35:03.218 --> 35:04.098
[SPEAKER_01]: He went to my kid's school.

35:04.298 --> 35:05.999
[SPEAKER_00]: But Jason actually went to Berkridge.

35:06.239 --> 35:07.999
[SPEAKER_01]: So like, hello, come on.

35:08.079 --> 35:09.579
[SPEAKER_00]: Or at least that's what's a rumor.

35:09.679 --> 35:10.560
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if that's true.

35:10.720 --> 35:11.920
[SPEAKER_00]: Jason, you can tell me if that's true.

35:12.740 --> 35:14.080
[SPEAKER_01]: That gives me a whole em, right?

35:14.300 --> 35:20.481
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, company, company that actually is in Kansas City, that I hear that does a lot of incredible things black and beach.

35:20.702 --> 35:22.482
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that they are just an incredible company.

35:22.862 --> 35:25.022
[SPEAKER_00]: So that'd be super fun to be a connection there.

35:25.042 --> 35:26.883
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that they could make a huge difference.

35:26.903 --> 35:27.223
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

35:27.243 --> 35:28.063
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, in hallmark.

35:28.463 --> 35:29.064
[SPEAKER_00]: And homework.

35:29.184 --> 35:29.725
[SPEAKER_00]: Hello, okay.

35:29.745 --> 35:30.886
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of companies.

35:31.326 --> 35:36.752
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're making your connections for you guys need to you to blow it up and tag them in everything.

35:37.153 --> 35:38.414
[SPEAKER_01]: That would be so cool.

35:38.474 --> 35:40.577
[SPEAKER_01]: Could you imagine, I'll be so cool.

35:40.657 --> 35:43.880
[SPEAKER_00]: We probably should have tagged Taylor Swift because Swifties like they'd be crazy.

35:43.900 --> 35:46.343
[SPEAKER_00]: I have maybe crazy, but possibly please don't come after me.

35:47.164 --> 35:48.645
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's recap Jess.

35:48.705 --> 35:49.766
[SPEAKER_00]: This has been a lot of fun.

35:49.806 --> 36:00.295
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously we've had a big ask you guys and we've talked through a lot of the why we are asking and so thank you for allowing us to be able to come in front of you with this request.

36:00.315 --> 36:01.817
[SPEAKER_00]: We're building 500 backpacks.

36:02.277 --> 36:04.278
[SPEAKER_00]: between now and October 31st.

36:04.579 --> 36:07.461
[SPEAKER_00]: So you're going to be able to see that counter on our website.

36:07.701 --> 36:10.103
[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to be able to watch the progress.

36:10.163 --> 36:11.183
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a live counter.

36:11.203 --> 36:20.290
[SPEAKER_00]: So every single time that we get that donation of $75 or more, we're going to be able to add to that counter or goal is to blow past the 500.

36:20.630 --> 36:24.993
[SPEAKER_00]: But I believe that we can do that at least 500 backpacks by October 31st.

36:25.093 --> 36:25.714
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's

36:29.314 --> 36:31.036
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's going to be big, but here's the thing.

36:31.296 --> 36:32.577
[SPEAKER_01]: I know that we can do more than that.

36:32.677 --> 36:34.498
[SPEAKER_01]: And I've already said, I come on Casey's strong.

36:34.999 --> 36:36.820
[SPEAKER_01]: We can do it, but let's be honest.

36:36.880 --> 36:39.483
[SPEAKER_01]: We have a October 31 deadline.

36:39.723 --> 36:41.764
[SPEAKER_01]: And we absolutely want to meet that deadline of 500 by then.

36:42.880 --> 36:48.844
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think that we can do so much more than that because this doesn't stop in October.

36:49.024 --> 36:51.286
[SPEAKER_01]: We're not building bags for one time of year.

36:51.746 --> 36:56.890
[SPEAKER_01]: We are building bags all the time to make sure that this doesn't end in a date.

36:57.190 --> 37:00.352
[SPEAKER_01]: This isn't something that is going to stop at any point.

37:00.412 --> 37:06.717
[SPEAKER_01]: This is something that can continue to grow and it can change lives going forward forever, possibly.

37:07.197 --> 37:08.939
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I want you to be a part of that.

37:09.099 --> 37:13.964
[SPEAKER_01]: I want you to join us in that endeavor and be a part of this incredible change that we're wanting to make.

37:14.324 --> 37:14.644
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

37:14.664 --> 37:18.047
[SPEAKER_00]: So remember, give, build, and connect.

37:18.067 --> 37:22.732
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, something that we say on this podcast a lot is, and we say with care packaging bound is.

37:23.132 --> 37:43.495
[SPEAKER_00]: every backpack tells a story, but something that I think that we forget when we're talking about every backpack tells a story, we're typically referring to the incredible story, sometimes that the story of incredible joy of heartbreak with a foster youth or the foster family and the stories and the things that they go through.

37:44.195 --> 37:49.197
[SPEAKER_00]: But there is a whole story that has to happen before that bag is even built.

37:49.257 --> 37:54.438
[SPEAKER_00]: That story is the person who donated $50, right?

37:54.558 --> 37:55.979
[SPEAKER_00]: $75 or $50 or $50.

37:55.999 --> 37:57.539
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it starts with the yes.

37:57.559 --> 37:58.420
[SPEAKER_00]: It starts with the yes.

37:58.560 --> 38:00.240
[SPEAKER_01]: I had this like whole, because I'm cheesy.

38:00.420 --> 38:02.561
[SPEAKER_01]: I had this whole idea one time.

38:02.621 --> 38:08.583
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to have this epic music that's going to follow that dollar through to building the bag and actually handing it to a child.

38:09.243 --> 38:29.577
[SPEAKER_01]: And it is like, even if you're just sitting there imagining, it takes one yes to start it and then that one yes goes to purchasing those materials and it goes to putting those in a building event and from putting it in a building that we're intentionally putting them in a bag and from getting those bags they get preyed over intentionally and then they go to our distribution partners.

38:29.917 --> 38:33.179
[SPEAKER_01]: And they're finally handed to that child in that moment of need.

38:33.560 --> 38:35.201
[SPEAKER_01]: And that started with a yes.

38:35.261 --> 38:41.305
[SPEAKER_01]: That started with obedience and with intentionality of saying, yes, I can do that.

38:41.485 --> 38:45.788
[SPEAKER_01]: We say even if it's five dollars, five dollars can be a lot to a lot of people.

38:45.868 --> 38:46.428
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.

38:46.668 --> 38:53.493
[SPEAKER_01]: So I challenge you to give what you can, where you can, and know that every little bit matters.

38:53.993 --> 38:57.876
[SPEAKER_01]: And then if you can give an abundance, give an abundance and find the joy in that as well.

38:58.336 --> 39:05.982
[SPEAKER_00]: So the invite today is to not just give, but we're inviting you to be part of the mission.

39:06.122 --> 39:07.703
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the bigger invite here.

39:07.803 --> 39:16.750
[SPEAKER_00]: So 500 backpacks, that's 500 opportunities to tell a child, you matter, you have value, you haven't been forgotten.

39:17.170 --> 39:21.813
[SPEAKER_00]: So 500 backpacks before October 31st, if you guys can help us.

39:22.594 --> 39:26.057
[SPEAKER_00]: give build and connect that is the goal of today.

39:26.157 --> 39:31.861
[SPEAKER_00]: So just any final thoughts and words on this fun episode before we hit the ground running.

39:31.901 --> 39:33.442
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been a lot more fun than I anticipated.

39:33.482 --> 39:35.664
[SPEAKER_01]: I kind of dreaded it if I'm honest with you Chris.

39:35.724 --> 39:37.885
[SPEAKER_01]: I was going to be like, I don't know, fun raising episode.

39:38.306 --> 39:39.847
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think this was fun.

39:40.207 --> 39:48.610
[SPEAKER_00]: I think if we can learn to give with a cheerful heart and see the bigger picture, man, so many lives can be transformed.

39:48.750 --> 39:49.730
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

39:49.770 --> 39:51.291
[SPEAKER_00]: That is really our goal for today.

39:51.391 --> 39:56.973
[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you guys again for joining us on Pact with Purpose, where every backpack tells a story.

39:57.333 --> 39:57.613
[SPEAKER_01]: Bye.