Fostering Change

Welcome to Fostering Change! Today marks the final installment of our special episodes for National Foster Care Awareness Month. We hope you've enjoyed the series—and, more importantly, learned something meaningful from each conversation. As always, we encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments and pass these episodes along to others.In today’s episode, we welcome back one of Rob’s favorite guests: Charell Star, who first joined us in Season 5. Charell gained national attention when she was featured in Humans of New York (link below), and she returns to discuss her powerful new book, Trash Bag Tales and Other Stories from an Accidentally Happy Life. The book offers readers a raw, heartfelt, and often humorous look at what it means to claim the joyful life you deserve.Charell is also the featured subject in the award-winning documentary Feeling Wanted, which chronicles her time in foster care and is now used as a training resource by child welfare organizations around the world.We absolutely loved this episode—and we’ve already invited Charell back for Season 7!📚 Want to read Charell’s book?Find it at your favorite bookstore or purchase it on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Trash-Bag-Tales-Stories-Accidentally/dp/B0F24H8DXS📲 Connect with Charell:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charellstar/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charellstar/Read her “Humans of New York” story:https://www.instagram.com/p/CUK7yfSrFT3/?hl=en🎧 One more episode of Season 6 drops next week! After that, we’ll take a short break and share some “Best Of” episodes before returning with Season 7 this fall.💌 Got thoughts or guest suggestions? Email us at: info@comfortcases.orgThank you for being a GOOD HUMAN. 💙

On today’s episode of Fostering Change, we continue our special acknowledgment that May is National Foster Care Awareness Month. We hope you have taken some moments to reflect on what you can do to support those in the foster care system: donate, volunteer your time, mentor, or even consider taking steps to be a CASA or foster parent. Thank you for all you do!If you’d like a simple way to support Comfort Cases, here’s an idea: You can participate in the Hundred X program. Click on the following link, and you’ll be guided to complete surveys about brands and companies you are familiar with. Comfort Cases will receive $1.60 for every survey you fill out (and it only takes 2 minutes max for each!) https://programs.hundredx.com/givewithoutspendingNow, on to today’s episode: For 8 years, we have worked with the team at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Indiana, and have expanded that partnership throughout the country, literally giving away THOUSANDS of our Comfort Cases backpacks to social service agencies and youth experiencing foster care.Today, we speak with Aimee Christian, a Fostering Connections Case Manager with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. Aimee and Rob Scheer have a lively discussion that focuses on the positive changes that can be made to improve the foster care system.Some of the points they cover include changing our vocabulary so we’re not labeling these youth, changing the focus from just on the child to the entire family, and building and improving relationships with the birth family and the foster family.Aimee and Rob will certainly motivate you to—at minimum—give new thoughts to the foster care system and—at best—possibly motivate you to consider becoming a foster parent yourself!We know you’ll enjoy this interview. Thank you again to Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for being such a valuable and supportive partner to Comfort Cases all these years! ​​The partnership between Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Comfort Cases has grown since 2018. Since the expansion, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s affiliated health plans have hosted dozens of packing parties across 16 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico, providing thousands of Comfort Cases and XL duffel bags to youth in foster care nationwide.For more information about the foster care system or how you can support Comfort Cases, please visit our website: www.comfortcases.org. If you have any questions, comments, or guest suggestions, please reach out to us at info@comfortcases.org.

In this week’s episode of the Comfort Cases Podcast, Rob Scheer sits down with Amy Vale, foster parent and founder of For the Cubs, a purpose-driven brand creating sensory tools to support emotional regulation in children and adults alike.Amy shares how her own foster care journey inspired a mission: to design products that provide real comfort, like Percy, a weighted plush bear that mimics the feeling of a hug. Their conversation explores:✅ The power of pairing entrepreneurship with advocacy✅ How sensory tools support those facing trauma, ADHD, anxiety, and more✅ The lack of comforting resources for children entering care✅ What empathetic corporate responsibility really looks likeThis powerful episode is part of our ongoing spotlight series for National Foster Care Awareness Month. Don’t miss this heartfelt discussion about healing, innovation, and how we can all do better for youth in care.🔗 Learn more about For the Cubs: www.forthecubs.com📅 New episodes every Tuesday in May💙 Learn more about Comfort Cases: www.comfortcases.org📧 Contact: info@comfortcases.org🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Google Podcasts—wherever you tune in.

May is National Foster Care Awareness Month, and we’re kicking it off with one of our most powerful episodes yet.This week on Fostering Change, host Rob Scheer is joined by special guest co-host Jennifer Perry, Executive Director of the Children’s Action Network and Co-Founder of FosterMore. Jennifer’s tireless advocacy has brought national attention to the urgent needs of the 108,000+ children in U.S. foster care currently waiting for adoptive families.Together, they sit down with Lara Love Hardin, author of The Many Lives of Mama Love—a 2024 Oprah Book Club selection and New York Times bestseller. In this profoundly moving conversation, Lara shares her remarkable journey through opioid addiction, incarceration, the devastating loss of her children, and how she fought her way back to rebuild her life.This episode is a raw and inspiring look at:The transformative power of storytellingThe realities of addiction, incarceration, and recoveryThe broken pieces of the foster care system—and how we can fix themThe power of second chances and redemption🎧 Listen, share, and comment on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts—or wherever you get your podcasts!📅 New episodes air every Tuesday throughout May in honor of National Foster Care Awareness Month. Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss a single story.🌐 Learn More & Support:Comfort Cases – https://www.comfortcases.org📧 Contact: info@comfortcases.org🔗 Featured Organizations:Children’s Action NetworkWebsite: https://www.childrensactionnetwork.orgInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/childrensactionnetworkTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/childrensactionFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensActionNetworkFosterMoreWebsite: https://fostermore.orgInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/foster_moreTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/fostermoreFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/FosterMore📚 About Lara Love Hardin:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laralovehardinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/laralovehardin📖 Buy The Many Lives of Mama Love: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-many-lives-of-mama-love-a-memoir-of-lying-stealing-writing-and-healing-lara-love-hardin/19897569 or wherever you buy books

When people think of fostering or adopting, the image that often comes to mind is a cute little baby. But what’s often forgotten are the older children—pre-teens and teens—who are just as in need of love, support, and a forever family.On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer welcomes Randi Thompson, co-founder of Kidsave—a remarkable nonprofit helping youth ages 9–17 in foster care and orphanages find meaningful, lasting connections and permanent homes. Randi is truly one of the “Good Humans” we’re honored to feature!Kidsave offers several incredible programs, including their flagship Weekend Miracles initiative, which connects older youth with families who are considering fostering or adoption. As Kidsave says:“When a child feels like they have someone in their corner, the world opens up to them, and they thrive.”🎉 Upcoming Kidsave Miracle Galas:📍 Washington, DC – May 29📍 Los Angeles – June 7📍 Houston – June 21💙 May is National Foster Care Awareness Month!Comfort Cases is celebrating with events, fundraisers, and new weekly episodes every Tuesday in May. The Season 6 finale airs June 3!💡 Have guest ideas for Season 7 (coming this Fall)? Reach out to our producer:📧 dthalberg@comfortcases.org | info@comfortcases.org🔗 Learn more about Kidsave and connect with them here:📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidsaveInternational📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kidsave/🧵 Threads: https://www.threads.net/@kidsave🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kidsave💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kidsave/🌐 Website: https://www.kidsave.org

On today’s episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer sits down with another incredible “Good Human” — Tristian Smith. After losing his mother at the age of seven, Tristian entered the foster care system, where he experienced over 25 placements and attended 13 different schools. Despite these hardships, he never let his circumstances define him.Tristian shares the powerful story behind his memoir, Against All Odds, which chronicles his journey through the challenges of foster care and his path to becoming a voice for change.Now a retired U.S. Army Officer, Tristian continues to serve as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), a Foster Care Review Board Member, and a mentor to youth aging out of the system. His commitment to advocacy, mentorship, and reform is genuinely inspiring.📘 Get Tristian’s book, Against All Odds, available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.🔗 Connect with Tristian: Instagram: @undeterred_anomalyLinkedIn: Tristian Smith📩 Have questions or guest suggestions? Please email us at info@comfortcases.org