Murfreesboro, NC – August 28, 2026 – Chowan University students came together in the Hawks Nest to pack 275 Comfort Cases for children entering the foster care system.

The event gave students the opportunity to serve while learning more about the experiences of children in foster care and the impact something as simple as a backpack filled with new belongings can have.

Before students began packing, they heard from Rob Scheer, founder of Comfort Cases, who shared his own experience growing up in foster care and what eventually led him to start the organization.

Scheer told students that, as a child in foster care, he carried his belongings from home to home in a trash bag. Years later, after becoming a foster and adoptive parent himself, he watched his own children arrive at his home carrying their belongings the same way.

“What about giving some kids some dignity, some hope?” Scheer recalled asking.

That experience helped lead to the creation of Comfort Cases, which provides backpacks filled with new belongings for children entering foster care.

Following Scheer’s remarks, the Hawks Nest quickly turned into a packing line as Chowan students worked together to fill 275 backpacks with pajamas, toiletries, toothbrushes and toothpaste, blankets, books, stuffed animals and other items.

As students packed, Scheer explained why many of the items are included in each case. He shared that the idea to include a blanket originally came from his son, who was five years old at the time.

“I said, ‘You do know these kids are not cold?’” Scheer told the students. His son responded, “I know, Daddy. But once they wrap themselves up in their blanket, they know we love them.”

“Isn’t that what we all want?” Scheer said. “We want to be loved.”

Students carried that message with them as they continued packing. Before placing a stuffed animal into each backpack, Scheer asked students to give it a hug.

“You do not have to know someone to love someone,” he told them.

Students also signed cards that were placed inside the cases, giving each child a personal message from someone at Chowan who helped pack their backpack.

For Chowan students, the afternoon was a chance to make a difference for children they will likely never meet. The cases packed in the Hawks Nest will leave campus and eventually make their way into the hands of children entering foster care.

Scheer also challenged students to think beyond the backpacks they were packing and about the impact they can have on others throughout their lives.

“Your legacy is about what you give in society and not what you take,” Scheer said. “Empathy is not in your DNA. Empathy is taught.”

Service has long been an important part of the Chowan experience, and the Comfort Cases project gave students another opportunity to put that into practice. It also gave them a chance to learn more about foster care while working alongside one another to help children going through a difficult time.

By the end of the event, 275 Comfort Cases had been packed in the Hawks Nest and were ready to make their way to children entering foster care, each filled with new belongings and a reminder that someone at Chowan took the time to care.