CONTACT:
Kevin Erb
The Ferguson Agency
260.444.7333
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Three Rivers Ambulance Authority partnering with
Blessings in a Backpack on expansion of Brave Bags program
Fort Wayne, IN (June 2, 2025) – Three Rivers Ambulance Authority (TRAA) is teaming up with Blessings in a Backpack Fort Wayne to help the nonprofit collect supplies for a new program it launched last fall.
The program, Brave Bags, collects critical items to provide comfort and support to children undergoing treatment for abuse, neglect and other traumatic experiences. The bags are also known as Williams’s Bags after a former local foster child who suffered from abuse and neglect before becoming an advocate for children dealing with similar traumatic situations.
Each Brave Bag is filled with food, hygiene essentials, comforting care items, and activities for children. TRAA will begin carrying bags on their ambulances for EMS team members to distribute to children when appropriate.
Joel Benz, Executive Director of TRAA as well as a working member of TRAA’s EMS team, said he was inspired to support the Brave Bags program after encountering children having to deal with traumatic experiences firsthand while on runs.
“We are honored to help expand the Brave Bags program and collect supplies that can make such a profound impact on a child at a time of their greatest vulnerability and need,” Benz said. “Our team knows the impact these supplies can have for young people – to give them hope, to let them know they matter.”
Supporters of the Brave Bags program include the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, the Rifkin Family Foundation, Professional Emergency Physicians, Care Source, Summit Orthodontics, Fort Wayne Children’s Foundation and Lincoln Financial Group.
“Our mission at Blessings is to feed the most vulnerable children in our community,” said Jama Ross, executive director of Blessings in a Backpack Fort Wayne. “This partnership allows us to find children where they’re struggling, during times of their greatest need, and we’re hopeful that the community will come together to make this a priority.”
TRAA and Blessings in a Backpack Fort Wayne are putting the call out to the public for donations in advance of an event they are planning on July 17 in coordination with the Northeast Indiana Human Resources Association. At the event, volunteers are hoping to fill at least 300 Brave Bags and load the first 75 onto TRAA ambulances.
The public can purchase supplies for Brave Bags locally at The Find in downtown Fort Wayne, as well as through a dedicated wish list Blessings in a Backpack Fort Wayne maintains on Amazon.
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