Our People
26 March, 2026
Giving hope one suitcase at a time
BEAUFORT CWA is calling on the community to support its ongoing work with the Hope in a Suitcase program, helping provide practical care for local children entering foster care.
The national non-profit program aims to ensure every child entering the foster care system knows they are supported by their community by giving them a suitcase of their own.
Beaufort CWA member Ann Bunting said the project had become an ongoing focus for the group, with members putting together cases whenever they could.
“You get a particular age group, it might be 0-1, 5-8, something like that, girl or boy,” she said.
Items in the suitcase include toiletries, nightwear and daywear, underwear and socks, blankets, books and toys, hairbrushes and journals, with the stipulation that all items must be brand new.
“Those kids tend to get moved from place to place, they can take the case, it’s theirs.”
At this year’s International Women’s Day event in Beaufort, Mrs Bunting explained that the need for the project is staggering.
“The really scary figure is that from January to July last year, just between here, Echuca and Shepparton, 689 cases were delivered. It’s not going down.”
The suitcases are distributed through agencies including CAFS (Community and Family Services) in Ballarat.
Mrs Bunting said Beaufort CWA first became involved in the project over two years ago.
“We took it on a few years ago when I heard about it on the radio, and then after that there was a state conference of CWA, so they asked each branch to bring one or two and we’ve kept on with it ever since,” she said.
Funds raised through the group’s annual Easter market stall help purchase items for the suitcases, particularly seasonal clothing.
“We will do one at the Easter market and that will mainly be to buy winter clothes,” Mrs Bunting said.
Last year, Beaufort CWA prepared 12 suitcases in winter, with an additional eight being completed later in the year.
“I always buy a nice winter coat or winter jumper. I think of some poor kid in Ballarat in a tatty old windcheater, it’s pretty awful.”
She said many people found the project easy to connect with because it was so practical and local.
“Often people think, ‘I’ve got a grandchild that age so I know what they’re interested in’,” “It’s a really easy thing to do, once you’ve set your mind to it.”
Mrs Bunting said the appeal of the program was that donors could clearly see how their contributions would make a difference.
“It’s a really practical thing and it’s close to home,” she said.
“Often you give to projects that are a bit removed, you’re not just giving money and wondering where that goes, you’re actually thinking about it when you go to buy the kids’ clothes or things, it just makes it a bit more real. You know it’s going to get used in this area.”
Beaufort CWA will be collecting donations and items for anyone interested in supporting Hope in a Suitcase at the Beaufort Easter Market.
For a full list of suggested items, visit the Hope in a Suitcase website, www.hiasc.org.au
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