‘It’s My Very Own’ (Bags of Love) www.bagsoflove-eca.ca is a faith based non-profit organization committed to working with communities to provide for the immediate needs of children being removed from their homes by local Child Protective Services.
It is run by the local Seventh-day Adventist Company, and we have several chapters throughout Alberta. Drayton Valley Church serves Drayton Valley and Rocky Mountain house. We took over providing for these communities in the summer of 2018.
When a child is removed from their home, we provide a bag containing needed supplies to help care for their needs and make the transition easier. The bag and its contents are something they can call their own.
We begin with a large handmade cloth bag with a pocket sewn on the outside. The pocket is filled with personal care items and a letter from the IMVO team telling them someone cares about them and hopes things will get better for them. The contents of the bag are age and gender appropriate. They are basic, but special: A kid-sized handmade quilt, a teddy bear, toys for younger children and age-appropriate items such as personal items, books, activities, games, etc. for older children. It is our goal to provide every displaced child with a ‘bag of love’.
Contents of the bags are provided by volunteers who sew the quilts and bags and also through donations of items or money.
We are not involved in the removal or placement of the children; we don’t meet them or know who/where they are. We just provide these bags to help make the transition easier. They are made ahead of time and delivered to local agencies who deliver them to the children as needed.
For more information visit our website
Email: ojohannaw@gmail.com Or call: Orti Weich; 403-857-8032, Sylvia Williams; 780-289-2278
