Hi my name Erica Illg I’m 14 years old and this is my seventh year in 4-H.

I am now working on my Emerald star project, which is also a Revolution of Responsibility project, which I am calling “Backpacks for Foster Kids.”

For more information on the Revolution of Responsibility go to http://www.ca4h.org/Support/RofR/ .

Kids placed into foster care are usually scared and sometimes have no personal belongings as they are taken to a home where they have never been.

The first night is usually the hardest for them and many times the social worker tells them they are going to someone’s house for a sleep over.

I think if kids could be given a backpack with some essentials (toothbush, toothpaste, hair brush, socks, pajamas, blanket and stuffed animal) when they are placed in a foster home that it would help them get settled in for their first night and also serve as a transition item that can stay with them when they leave.

I experienced this firsthand in my own home when we became a foster family this year.

We have had on more than one occasion children brought here with nothing but the clothes they had on and we had to run to the store for pajamas, socks, clothes, etc. We could see how giving kids something they could call their own was very important to them.

In talking with social workers and foster placement workers we learned that a lot of people donate items for babies/toddlers (ages 1-5) and a lot of people donate for the teenagers/high school age so their seems to be a gap for the kids ranging in age from 6 -12.

This is when I started thinking that I could help my community with this problem by supplying backpacks to foster kids in this age group.

I have formed a team of 12 youth to help spread the word to our community for the need to fill “Backpacks for Foster Kids” here in Lake County.

If you would like to donate items or money to this project please contact me directly at email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone 707-536-8071 or the County 4-H Office at 707-263-6838.

All donations can be dropped off at the Lake County 4H Office-883 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport, CA 95453.

Erica Illg is a part of the Lake County, Calif., 4-H Youth Development program.