Lighten the Load Campaign

12/10/2025

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who helped us meet the needs of these local teens in foster care. Thanks especially to Grace United Baptist Church. Mount Moriah Baptist Church, Attorney Landon King and Mitchell Cline Magan Woosley Cline Cline and Co. for your generous donations! Merry Christmas everyone. 🙏

🎄🎅 Calling all Generous Spirits 🎅🎄

LTL has been made aware that we have six local foster children whose Christmas Wish Lists haven't yet been sponsored.

The children are all teens, and we all know how difficult it can be to shop for teens.

We are asking for financial contributions to be used toward providing each these children a $250 Gift Card so they are able to make their Christmas wishes come true.

Can you help? If so, ANY AMOUNT is appreciated! ❤️🎄💚🎅❤️🎄💚

Please contact Laurie Mize Henderson via Messenger or email at [email protected] if you would like to help. Or simply comment below. Thanks so much! Merry Christmas!

07/21/2025

The Benjamin Moore Corp. has done it again!

Pictured Left to Right are Continuous Improvement Manager, Cody Grammer, and Manufacturing Manager, Richard Davis.

Thanks so much for your generous donation of 20 pieces of hard sided rolling luggage, as well as 10 smaller cosmetic cases or carryon duffle bags. They donated a total of 30 pieces of new luggage which are all headed to foster children in St. Clair County!!!

Thank you all so much!

07/04/2025

03/27/2025

I would like to thank the Pell City Rotary Club for their very generous donation of 6 pieces of luggage, diapers, baby wipes, sanitary products, personal hygiene items, and other miscellaneous items to LTL. Your support of LTL and our local foster children means so much.

Thanks for everything you guys do for our community!

~Laurie

Pell City’s Christian Love Pantry and the Lighten the Load effort were highlighted during Tuesday’s meeting of the Pell City Rotary Club membership, receiving grants for the relief the services have provided.

Read the story here ---> https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/dh_news/pell-city-rotary-aids-local-aid-agencies/article_a67d3eed-e185-449f-acfe-cb4320b3e61b.html

02/25/2025

Foster children face challenges that are difficult for most to comprehend. One of these is lack of control over their lives. Some move from foster home to foster home many times. Historically, plastic garbage bags were used to put their belongings in each time. When you have to carry your life in a garbage bag, it sends a terrible message to the child that they deserve no better. To be blunt, it is demeaning and humiliating.

The Lighten the Load Campaign was conceived and designed by the Juvenile Dependency (Family) Court attorneys of St. Clair County in 2016 to provide each foster child with a brand new, large, hardsided, rolling piece of luggage that they can call their own and protect what few possessions they have during their time in foster care.

At any given time, St. Clair County has approximately 75 children in foster care. That is a lot of children and a lot of luggage, but is is an achievable goal. Since its inception, LTL has collected 535 brand new pieces of luggage for our county's foster population. Over the nine years LTL has been in existence, we have also been able to meet many other needs of the local foster community- from sponsoring children at Christmas, to providing clothing, diapers, sanitary products, hygiene products and any other miscellaneous needs that may arise throughout the year.

Support from the Pell City community and the surrounding areas of St. Clair County has been tremendous. This is, however, an ongoing project. Our intent is to continue to give a suitcase to each new child who comes into care and to continue to meet any other needs of St. Clair County's foster children which are not met by another organization.

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or suggestions for helping us realize the goals of this project. Foster children have so little and what they do have is precious to them. Help us help them!

~Laurie Mize Henderson
Law Office of Laurie Mize Henderson, P.C.
1906 Cogswell Avenue, Suite 1
Pell City, AL 35125
(205) 338-0061
[email protected]

12/12/2024

Thank you to Grace United Baptist Church, Ashville, AL, for your continued support of the Lighten the Load Campaign. Your generosity each holiday season helps make Christmas wishes come true for St. Clair County's foster children. We appreciate you continuing to show your love for those in need each year. Merry Christmas! 🎄🎅🎄

~St. Clair County Family Court Attorneys

12/12/2024

Thank you to Temp Force and the City of Pell City for their very generous donations to the LTL Campaign. 18 pieces of new luggage for St. Clair County's foster children, along with dozens of toys, blankets, toiletries, diapers, socks and under garments. What a way to say Merry Christmas and show your support for those in need during the holiday season! 🎄🎅🎄

We appreciate your continued support!

Wishing you and your Families a Very Merry Christmas,

~St. Clair County Family Court Attorneys

02/23/2024

Thanks to the Springville High School Peer Helpers for donating ten beautiful brand new suitcases for St. Clair County's foster children. It is heartwarming to see students giving back to their community.

Special thanks as well to the Moody (St. Clair County) Kiwanis Club and Ms. Rogena Woods for helping LTL out with pick up and delivery. You were truly a blessing to me today.

As always, thanks to the wonderful social workers, directors, supervisors and others at the St. Clair County Department of Human Resources for everything you do for our foster children. Your hard work does not go unnoticed.

~Laurie

12/27/2023