Hannah Turner knows the feeling of being a foster child being taken to a placement with their clothes in a plastic bag or simply arriving with the clothes on their back.
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It happened to her, and she doesn't want it to happen to other vulnerable children.
Ms Turner joined the Hope in a Suitcase charity just four weeks ago and on Wednesday donated 22 suitcases packed with essential items for children going in to foster care to Cafs.
"We collect donations and fill suitcases for children going in to foster care. Everything we put in the suitcase is new and includes items like clothing, toiletries, teddies, books, all the essentials so when they go in to a foster care placement they have something of their own."
READ MORE OF THE COURIER'S FOSTER CARE WEEK 2021 COVERAGE
The charity operates nationally and Ms Turner's grandmother first heard of it and urged her to look at it.
"I wish they were not needed ... but Cafs was very, very happy to receive them," Ms Turner said.
"When I went through the system, foster care was very different and there wasn't a lot of support for children ... but now organisations like Hope in a Suitcase want to help and we want to let the community know about them."
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Ms Turner had support from local businesses and individuals to pack her first batch of suitcases but is looking for more donations.
There are drop-off points for donations at Brady Bunch Early Learning Centres in Delacombe and Sebastopol, Playground Gym and Simply Magical Celebrations and Movement supplement shop. Donations can also be made online or via Hope in a Suitcase Victoria on Facebook.
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