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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend June 20, 2006 Members of the local Soroptimists club sort through piles of donated items Saturday in Medford. The donations were placed in backpacks to give to children in foster care, including those who are taken into protective custody during busts at �meth houses� and can�t take their own posessions with them because of contamination. (Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) Easing a tough transition By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune A bunch of recently donated backpacks has the power to transform local foster children's first hours in a new home. Stuffed with clothing, toiletries, school supplies and plush toys, 53 backpacks were delivered Saturday to the local child welfare office of the Oregon Department of Human Services. The bags — collected and assembled by local Soroptimist International club members — are bound for kids who often arrive in foster care with nothing. "For some kids, it's all they have," said Patt Fisher, social service specialist for DHS. The Soroptimists' effort was part of a statewide fundraiser earlier this month to collect backpacks and items to put inside for foster children. Local clubs collected about $4,700 in donated items, including about 200 stuffed animals, said Melanie Madden, president of the organization's Rogue Starlight chapter. Some 30 chapters around Oregon participated. The child welfare office has collected backpacks filled with essential items for foster children for about four years. But the project — dubbed Project Care Package — recently has become more important as DHS removes increasing numbers of children from dwellings where the illegal stimulant methamphetamine has been manufactured or used, officials said. When smoked or "cooked," meth contaminates users' children and their belongings with detectable or even toxic levels of the drug. Local police and DHS protocol dictates that no toys or personal possessions accompany children from such homes. "They have to leave clothes, teddy bears, blankets," Madden said. "Everything that would make the transition easy, they have to leave behind." After seeing an Oregon State Police presentation last fall on the plight of children taken from "meth houses," local Soroptimists organized the backpack drive. The fundraiser built on an ongoing effort by the Junior League of Jackson County to keep providing DHS with backpacks. "We saw that as a huge need in the community," said Tami Ross, Junior League president. The Junior League donates about 300 filled backpacks each year at a cost of about $30 apiece, Ross said. About 400 children are currently in foster care around the county, Fisher said. DHS places about 35 to 50 new foster children each month, she added. Every item in the backpacks is new and age-appropriate, designed to help kids weather their first 48 hours in a new environment, Ross said. Babies get receiving blankets, formula and diapers. Pre-teen girls may receive tampons, journals and pens. Books, toiletries and a nonperishable snack are included for youth of just about any age, Ross said. For more information or to make a donation, call the Junior League at 779-5020. Contributions can be mailed to P.O. Box 1504, Medford, OR 97501. E-mail reporter Sarah Lemon [email protected] . Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews