“We started this effort seven years ago with the idea to make our local foster children smile and feel loved, and our employees, friends and families donated more than 300 backpacks to the cause,” said Jerry Hall, owner of Assured Comfort Heating, Air & Plumbing. “We’re now providing more than 1,400 backpacks every year to foster children across five counties.”

Fostering Faith, founded in 2011 by Assured Comfort and becoming officially recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2016, is dedicated to offering comfort, care and essentials to children living in foster care. Beginning with a focus on the holiday season, efforts have expanded to include spring and summer projects.

Each year, founders and volunteers come together to fill hundreds of backpacks with toiletries, school supplies, toys and more for children in Douglas County and the neighboring communities.

“The fact that we can fill hundreds of backpacks with essentials for children in foster care every year illustrates the need in our local communities,” Hall said. “Our children are the future of our community, our country and our world, and we need to do everything in our power to make sure they have all the essentials for a quality of life and the opportunities they need to succeed as they grow.”