Tiffany Haddish donates 100 suitcases to foster children

Tiffany Haddish made an incredible donation to the Indiana Department of Child Services for foster children. The Girls Trip actress donated 100 suitcases, and there is a lot of meaning behind the donation because Haddish has previously said that having a suitcase made her feel like "a traveller" when she was in foster care as a child. 

“Our friends at @nwi have a great story about the amazing generosity of actress/comedian @TiffanyHaddish, who helped us spread holiday cheer to more than 400 children! We’ve said it before, but thank you so much, again, for your donation, @TiffanyHaddish!” the department confirmed on Twitter.

Shanell Manuel, a foster care specialist supervisor for Lake County with the Indiana Department of Child Services, heard the actress speak about her experience growing up in the foster care system during her appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Manuel reached out to Haddish, hoping that she would donate suitcases for the children.

"She talked about taking your personal belongings, your everything, your prized possessions, and put it in a trash bag — that represents trash, right?" Manuel told the NWI’s The Times. She said that Haddish’s story resonated with her, especially when she said, “I moved from one home to the next home to the next home, and I was in garbage bags.” Manuel said that she’s been working for the agency for 18 years, and she’s been taking children “out of homes and moving them to other homes, and when I see those garbage bags, it’s unfortunate that we still have to do that.”

Manuel decided to send an email to Haddish’s She Ready Foundation, which aims “to protect, provide resources, and ensure normalcy for foster children,” according to its website. In just a couple of weeks, Manuel received a phone call from Haddish’s publicist asking how they could help, and her mind went straight to securing at least 100 suitcases for the older youth. 

And just like that, Haddish’s She Ready Foundation donated 100 suitcases that began to arrive on Dec. 11 and were distributed to the youth during the DCS Christmas event on Dec. 19. Ellis Dumas, Indiana Department of Child Services Regional Manager for Lake County, said, "(The) suitcases were one aspect of it, for our older youth. Often, it's hard to buy gifts for teenagers in general. So to be able to give them something that they're going to be tangibly using is always phenomenal and awesome — Miss Haddish made that possible." She added that the suitcases and who they came from “is a sentiment to our foster children that there’s success, and support out there. That people who have been in your shoes, who want to help, and who conquered what you think is probably an awful situation to be going through (are there).” 

RELATED: Some Ontario post-secondary schools are waiving tuition fees for foster children

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Haddish has been very open and honest about her childhood. During her appearance on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman, the Night School actress spoke about her mother’s horrific car accident that put her head through a windshield and completely altered her demeanour. Tiffany asked her mother to let her move away to her grandma’s house as she became “very violent and verbally abusive.” 

When Haddish was 12, she and her four siblings were placed in the foster care system, which she called “the worst feeling in the world.” Haddish said, "You're dropped in these strangers' houses, you don't know these people, these people don't know you, you don't know if they're gonna hurt you, if they're gonna be kind, you don't have a clue what's going on."

Haddish spoke about putting her belongings in a trash bag and how that made her feel even worse. She said that having a suitcase made her feel like “a traveller.” She added, "[It was] like I had a purpose like I'm a person like I'm not garbage, I got this — it's mine, and my things are in here, and wherever I go I can take this with me, and I'm going somewhere."

The 41-year-old actress recently announced that she will launch an internship program in 2021 through her production company, She Ready Productions, and a partnership with Ready to Succeed, a career and personal development program that provides youth impacted by foster care with resources, relationships and opportunities to thrive personally and professionally.

“I believe that children that come from different cultures deserve a chance to work in the industry, and I would like people that look like me to be able to represent me too in the industry,” Haddish said.

The She Ready Internship Program provides paid internships, mentorship and a “suitcase” packed with resources to help them get ready for work. She Ready will also help cover transportation and other work-related expenses. 

Just when we thought we couldn’t love Tiffany Haddish any more than we do, she goes and helps the youth prepare for their futures. I’m not crying, you are. 

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