Lexington man donates luggage to local DCBS for foster children

During his 32 years serving as a foster parent for 65 girls and boys that came to his home, single dad Don Pratt saw it happen many times.

When the Department for Community-Based Services, more commonly known as social services, removed a child from their home, they were often taken to their foster home with their clothing and belongings in a garbage bag.

Sometimes when the children were moved from one foster home to another, their clothing and their meager belongings went with them in a garbage bag.

It didn’t impact the younger children as much, who were already going through a lot of trauma. Mentally, it was tough and embarrassing for the older children to move all their stuff in a garbage bag.

About 25 years ago, Pratt, who lives in Lexington, decided to reach out to some media contacts he had in order to get some suitcases that the children could be given that they could keep as their own.

Then, he started getting calls from people or groups with luggage to donate. Some had done luggage drives on his behalf.

“People do luggage drives. People call me daily with luggage that they want to drop off or have me pick up,” Pratt said.

The first large scale donation he got came from a luggage company at Fayette Mall, which offered a discount on new luggage if people would trade in their old luggage.

The business then called up Pratt donating about 500 pieces of luggage to him for his program.

At the time, Pratt didn’t have a garage so the luggage got piled up to the ceiling in his living room and dining room until he could get those distributed.

After Pratt gets the luggage, he delivers it all across the state to Department of Community-Based Services offices. He has been to every county except two, which either didn’t have an office or their office was a regional one elsewhere.

He also takes the luggage to various state agencies and some private ones that offer foster care.

“Over the years, there have been a lot of pop ups of private agencies. There is money in the business so they do it. The state has cut a lot of money to social workers and to the state offices, which means they have actually pushed these private agencies into taking over,” Pratt said. “I have been delivering to all of them. I don’t care.”

On June 30, Pratt stopped off at the Department of Community-Based Services Office in Williamsburg where he dropped off various pieces of luggage and backpacks, which will go to local foster children so they don’t have to move in with a garbage bag. It is also something that they can keep.

Pratt noted that some of the children have home visits on weekends, so the backpacks are handy to take things back and forth with them.

“Hopefully, some kid will be happy to have it. I never see them. I have only seen about three or four kids that have received the luggage apart from some of my own foster children,” Pratt said.

Pratt has also donated luggage to groups like Operation UNITE, which one time called him up before Camp UNITE in Williamsburg. Pratt helped them fill up a big van with luggage for the less fortunate children, who were visiting the camp to use.

Camp UNITE organizers have previously noted that some campers will show up with their clothing in a plastic grocery bag because they have nothing else to carry their clothing inside.

Pratt’s program has no formal name, although the Girl Scouts one time named his effort Suitcases for Kentucky Kids, which is what he puts on his business cards.

Anyone wanting to donate luggage to Pratt’s cause can phone him at (859) 552-2235 or e-mail him at dbp91044@gmail.com.

You can also find him on Facebook at Don Pratt’s Luggage Delivery for KY’s Foster/Adoptive Kids.