Austin Community College District’s (ACC) Student Advocacy Center (SAC) collected $1,275 and 47 pieces of luggage throughout May for 50 graduating foster youth. The Student Advocacy Center would like to thank all faculty and staff who donated to the 2025 Foster Care Luggage Drive.

All funds and donated items go directly to youth currently in foster care to provide them with a dignified way to carry their belongings when they leave their foster residences. 

ACC student Shilda Fresch shared what her life was like in the foster care system. 

“When I was moving from home to home in foster care, all I had to carry my belongings in was a brown paper bag or a trash bag,” says Shilda. “It made me feel disposable, like my life could be packed up and thrown away. Having proper luggage might seem small to some, but for a child in care, it means dignity. It means they matter. If I had a real suitcase, my transitions would have felt less painful, and I wouldn’t have felt so ashamed every time I walked into a new home.

The donations were delivered to the Department of Family & Protective Services on June 4.

Tags: luggage drive, Student Advocacy Center