From a young age, volunteering has been an integral part of Cara Finger’s life, which she credits to her parents. Raised in Texas, she says one of her most memorable moments was attending Buckner’s Children’s home where she first experienced the joy a child received from a new pair of shoes. Cara was just 6 years old, but she immediately recognized the need to help the unfortunate, and she has kept the importance of volunteering alive in her family by encouraging her children to do the same.
As an advocate for volunteerism, she says to “find where your passion is and latch on to some place to help.” One of the ways Cara has given back has been by creating a clothing drive in her child’s former elementary school 10 years ago. Since then, the clothing drive has donated one million pounds of clothing to its sister school. Cara’s initiative to give back in her child’s elementary school has created more support for children in need, all while teaching a younger generation the value of helping others.
Her most impactful effort has been her non-profit, My Bag My Story, which works to give
children in the foster care system a bag to carry personal belongings. She says that when foster children came into her home she was bothered by the fact they were not given a simple bag to carry from home to home. Since 2016, Cara has been able to grant over 400 stylish, colorful, handmade bags to organizations that work directly with children in the foster care system and is still working diligently to provide more.