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/givewithoutspending

Now, 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.

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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 like

This 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.

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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 storytelling

The realities of addiction, incarceration, and recovery

The broken pieces of the foster care system—and how we can fix them

The 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 Network

Website: https://www.childrensactionnetwork.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childrensactionnetwork

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/childrensaction

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensActionNetwork

FosterMore

Website: https://fostermore.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foster_more

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/fostermore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FosterMore

📚 About Lara Love Hardin:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laralovehardin

Instagram: 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

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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

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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_anomaly

LinkedIn: Tristian Smith

📩 Have questions or guest suggestions? Please email us at info@comfortcases.org

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Don’t you just love a really good person? On today’s episode of Fostering Change you’re about to meet one. Shawn Henss is truly the definition of what we call a “Good Human.” A nice guy, with a HUGE heart.

Shawn is the founder of Giving Sole, a non-profit organization that gives new shoes to youth in foster care. Technically, Shawn’s son came up with the idea for Giving Sole at the age of 10!

Since founding Giving Sole in 2018, they have given away more than 3,000 new, brand-name shoes and sneakers to youth in foster care throughout Arizona, and are looking to share this generosity throughout the US.

We can go on longer here, but we’d rather you listen to Shawn’s story directly from him in this beautiful interview with our host, Rob Scheer.

To find out more information about Giving Sole, including how to donate, please visit: www.givingsole.org.

You can also follow them on various social media channels:

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/givingsole/

Instagram

@giving_sole

Twitter/X

@givingsole

Threads

https://www.threads.net/@giving_sole

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/giving-sole

#fostercare #givingsole #adoption

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It’s always special when we can welcome both a returning guest and a first-time guest who are making a real difference. Join our host, Rob Scheer, as he sits down with Kate Trambitskaya and Brian Rosenberg for an urgent and eye-opening discussion about how federal cutbacks are impacting youth in foster care, LGBTQ+ youth, and other vulnerable communities.

Why This Episode Matters:

Kate, who last joined us in May 2022, is a passionate advocate for children, women, and families. As CEO of Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Childre,, she has expanded programs supporting expectant women facing adversity, children in institutional care overseas, and adoptees and their families here in the U.S.

Brian is the founder and executive director of GWK Academy Family Building, a non-profit spin-off of the beloved Gays With Kids community. Originally focused on supporting gay and queer men in their journey to parenthood, Brian is excited to announce that starting in March 2025, GWK Academy will support ALL family-building paths for ALL LGBTQ+ individuals!

🔥 Don’t just listen—take action! 🔥

🎧 Tune in now and get informed.

💬 Join the conversation—leave a comment or question!

❤️ Like, share, and help us spread the word! The more people who hear Fostering Change, the faster we can create real, lasting impact.

📩 Have thoughts or questions? Reach out at fosteringchange@comfortcases.org or visit www.comfortcases.org—we’d love to hear from you!

#FosteringChange #Podcast #LGBTQFamilies #FosterCare #Adoption #MakeAChange

To find more about each organization:

Spence-Chapin

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/spencechapin

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/spencechapinsvc/

Twitter/X

https://x.com/spencechapinsvc

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/71342/

GWK Academy/Gays With Kids

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/GaysWithKids

Instagram

@gays_with_kids; @gwkacademy

Twitter/X

https://www.youtube.com/@GWK

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianrrosenberg/

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How do you feel when you receive a hand-written note? Not an email, not a form letter. But an actual note that someone took the time to sit down and write out with a good old-fashioned pen or pencil? Pretty special right?

On today’s episode of Fostering Change we welcome Jeremy Su, co-founder of “Cards for Cubs”, an organization that demonstrates how a simple handmade card can profoundly impact a child’s life by offering hope and comfort during difficult times.

Since being founded in 2020, Cards for Cubs have collected and distributed more than 200,000 cards and over 400 foster care related organizations.

In 2024, Cards for Cubs collected 70,000 cards. The 2025 Card Drive ends March 31. To send in cards, please visit https://cardsforcubs.org/.

We’re so happy to call Jeremy a friend, and know that you’ll love hearing why he’s doing this and what’s to come!

TO CONTACT & DONATE, PLEASE VISIT:

Website

https://cardsforcubs.org/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/thecardsforcubs

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/CardsForCubs/

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