BOOKS-N-BAGS
OUR CAUSE
SERVING OKLAHOMA FOSTER CHILDREN
About 300 to 400 young people age out of foster care in Oklahoma each year when they turn 18,
without permanent connections to a stable family. Many teens are released to the streets with a trash bag
containing their belongings.
"I was a Children's Pastor to the most vulnerable children in Oklahoma. Over half of the children I
ministered to each week were either in foster care or adopted after being in foster care for years. Each time a
child enters a new foster home or moves to another foster facility they are forced to shove all of their
belongings into a trash bag." – Dr. Margo Bush, founder of Books-n-Bags.
THAT'S WHERE WE COME IN!
- There are more than 6000 children in the Oklahoma foster care system.
- About 300 to 400 children in the Oklahoma foster care system age out every year when they turn 18. They are given a trash bag to shove their belongings into and released from the system without permanent connections to a stable family.
- Most children and youth enter foster care because they have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents or guardians.
- All of these children have experienced loss and some form of trauma.
Children and teens in the Oklahoma foster care system are often forced to pack their belongings into trash bags
every time they move from one foster home to another. In response to this need, we established Books-n-Bags,
a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization aimed at replacing these trash bags. Our mission is to provide each foster child
with a signed book appropriate for their age and their very own luggage bag to carry their belongings. Join us in our
effort to eliminate trash bags for every child and teen in the system and replace it with something they can truly call their own. Every child deserves dignity and hope, and one way to achieve this is by giving them more than a trash bag.
BOOKS-N-BAGS FOUNDER TALKS ABOUT OUR CAUSE
US STATISTIC: 740 Children Enter Foster Care Every Day
30%
30%
30%
More than 30% of youth in foster care suffer from PTSD. Children in foster care are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with PTSD as combat veterans.
60%
30%
30%
60% of children who have experienced sex trafficking have spent time in foster care.
54%
30%
54%
Only 54% of children in the foster care system graduate from high school.
A BOOK FOR EVERY CHILD
EACH CHILD & TEEN RECEIVES A BOOK
At Bush Publishing & Associates, our children's authors are passionate about reading, books, and children. It is our way to help and bring awareness to an important issue among our children. Oklahoma has been working to improve literacy rates for children, but many students are still struggling to read. In 2022, only 24% of Oklahoma's fourth graders were proficient in reading. In 2024, majority of elementary and middle school students in Oklahoma remained at basic levels of literacy performance.
