Give Megan Shea and Amy Allison credit for the best idea of the Charlie’s Dinosaur Drive for Foster Kids.

They work at Associated Ministries, where they’re true to the mission of uniting people of faith to build stronger communities. They embraced the drive as a chance to add a little personal oomph to that mission by collecting supplies for kids going into foster care.

Most collection sites so far are gathering random items from the most wanted list of clothing and toiletries. Shea and Allison saw another way.

“Can we fill a backpack for one child?” Allison asked, just as Shea was about to pose the same question.

These women are brilliant.

They’re going beyond buying hair dryers and jeans for a cause. They and their colleagues will be sending one child on his or her way with a rolling bag packed with love and hope.

Associated Ministries staff will decide together whether they would like to help a boy or a girl. They will pick an age range, and they will plan together who will bring what for the suitcase.

It’s a perfect model. Any office, church, classroom or club can do it.

The next best question of the drive came up when the staff got a briefing on it: “Can we fill more than one?”

You know the answer.

About the drive

Child abuse and neglect cases are some of the hardest on Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies. Though they are all awful, the death of Charlie and Braden Powell at their father’s hand was one of the worst. Who could make sense of a parent murdering his own boys?

After they found a picture Charlie made of a happy dinosaur, five detectives saw it as the mascot of an effort to help the kids they still can. They founded Charlie’s Dinosaur as a non-profit to help children moving out of abuse and into foster care.

There’s an awkward time in that process, said Det. Sgt. Theresa Berg. The children rarely have clean clothes, toiletries or anything to pass the time in the few days when they are in meetings, hearings and temporary care. Charlie’s Dinosaur fills in that blank with a backpack or rolling suitcase filled with new necessities.

The detectives are allowing us to help fill those bags during Tacoma Weekly’s Charlie’s Dinosaur Drive for Foster Kids. The list of things the children need, and the places to bring them are next to this story.

Most Wanted New Items:

• Backpacks

• Rolling luggage

• Pajamas (no nightgowns or shorties)

• Hair dryers

• Jeans and tops

• Zip-front hoodies

• Coats

• Toiletries, including shampoo, conditioner, deodorant and body wash

• Combs and brushes

• Art supplies and books

If you would like to join this list as a donation site, please send an e-mail with your address to: kathleen@tacomaweekly.com