Carrying Hope

We are so grateful for this incredible family who created 12 Hope Packs after learning about Carrying Hope online! They thoughtfully considered the kids who might receive each Hope Pack and carefully chose items they hoped would bring each child comfort and a little bit of happiness. This level of thought and care is what makes each Hope Pack that goes out of our doors so special. Every Hope Pack reminds a child going through a tough time that someone is thinking of and caring about them. If you’re looking for a meaningful project to do with your family, friends, or group, consider making Hope Packs together. 🎒💕

💚 We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Luci Keller, who created an incredible cookbook and kitchen resource book for the young adults in our Hope’s Home program as part of her Girl Scouts Silver Award project for Central Texas Troop 44613! 💚

In addition to Luci’s awesome book — which includes kitchen basics, food-safety tips, meal-planning advice, budgeting advice, cooking terms, and, of course, lots of recipes — she also collected donations of 160 brand-new kitchen and cooking items for our residents worth more than $2,600!

Projects like this are truly meaningful and impactful because they give our young adults who have aged out of foster care not just resources but also practical tools and confidence as they build independent lives of their own.

Luci, thank you for your incredible generosity, thoughtfulness, and hard work. We are so grateful for you! 💚✨

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! 🎟️✨🎟️✨

We are thrilled to announce that tickets, tables, and sponsorship and underwriting opportunities for Carrying Hope’s 10th annual fundraising gala are available now at https://onecau.se/carryinghope2027 (link in profile).

This year marks 10 years of Carrying Hope—and more than 47,000 youth and families in the Texas foster care system positively impacted by our programs since our founding in 2016. On Friday, February 26, we’ll celebrate this milestone at Carrying Hope’s 10th annual fundraising gala “Celebrating a Decade of Hope” at Assembly Hall in downtown Austin. Please join us as we celebrate 10 years of impact and invest in the next decade! ✨🔟✨

Thank you Mission Critical Group for partnering with us to create 100 perfect Hope Packs for babies, children and teens in the Texas foster care system and helping to bring comfort and hope to each one of them during a difficult transition. If you’d like to partner with Carrying Hope for a philanthropic Hope Pack event at your next corporate meeting or conference, email us at [email protected] to learn more! 🎒💕🎒💕

Yesterday, we distributed 50 Hope Packs that will go to children in Travis County as well as multiple counties across Central Texas — that’s 50 kiddos who will know that they matter and are valued! Thank you to all of our amazing partners who make this possible!

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“These Hope Packs produce smiles where there is disruption. Children seem to grab hold to the simple expression of care and compassion. Thank you all so much for what you do.” — Martha Easley, DFPS serving Bastrop, Hays and Caldwell Counties

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We had so much fun yesterday with Gensler Austin who put together 50 perfect Hope Packs and created the sweetest (most design-worthy) notes of encouragement to include inside each one of them. Thank you for helping us transform the way 50 little ones enter foster care. Carrying Hope is beyond grateful for Gensler’s continued support and generosity over the past decade, and we are in awe of the amazing things they do through their Community Impact efforts! Thank you! 🎒💕🎒💕

“Carrying Hope’s Hair + Hope program made an enormous difference for a teen I was working with in foster care. I reached out from states away, desperate to help the teen get her hair done to feel like her best self. She was living in a youth shelter at the time, had no resources, and hated the way she looked. Hair + Hope was generous enough to make an appointment for her to get her hair braided and cover the complete cost. When I asked the teen how she felt about her hair after the appointment, she was beaming like I had never seen. She said, “I am so cute!” And she was. I will never forget this act of generosity, and I know she won’t either.”

- Kizzy Davies, CASA advocate

Carrying Hope believes that all youth deserve to have their basic needs met and is proud to offer our Hair + Hope program, which pairs incredible local stylists who regularly work with textured hair with youth in care who are desperately in need of their services. Stylists are fully and generously paid for their time and talent. Thanks to our amazing network, there’s no red tape, hoops to jump through, or long waits for services — kids and teens in foster care receive hair care when they need it.

We are so very grateful for our incredible community partnerships that allow us to continue to meet the needs of the foster youth and families we serve! A huge thanks to NCL Austin360 Chapter, which dropped off more than 100 Hope Packs and most-needed items this past week. We couldn’t do what we do without volunteers like you! Thank you! 🎒💕🎒💕

We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Primrose School of Southwest Austin for collecting the most adorable toys and stuffed animals for us as part of their recent most-need items drive! Primrose Schools has been a huge supporter of Carrying Hope for numerous years, and we are so very grateful! Want to host a most-needed-drive for us? Email [email protected]!

SAVE THE DATE! We are just SIX short months away from Carrying Hope’s 10th annual fundraising gala: Friday, February 26, 2027.

Please mark your calendars and make plans to join us at Assembly Hall Austin for our biggest, most impactful event yet! Be on the lookout for tickets and tables as well as sponsorship and underwriting opportunities coming very soon! Can’t wait to see you there for our 10th anniversary event! 💫