Written By: Emma dela Pena

Cara Finger, the founder and chief bag giver of the non-profit organization My Bag My Story, is bringing great awareness and care to children in the foster care system. Having been adopted herself, she developed a special love of volunteering for children through the encouragement of her parents. Originally from Texas, Cara has lived all over the United States where she was able to leave her mark by finding ways to help many organizations that support children in need.     

Currently, Cara resides in Nashville, Tennessee where she and her husband, Christian, are raising three teenagers, two of whom are adopted. Her youngest son, Christian, was adopted from Russia, while her middle child, Corrinne, was adopted from China. Cara’s oldest, Caroline, is currently finishing her first year at Samford University. Even before adopting her family, Cara felt that she wanted to take the initiative and be a resounding voice for children in the foster care system. In 2016, she and her husband made the generous decision to continue giving back to children in the foster care system by applying to be foster parents. Since then, her family has cared for three children in the foster care system and provided them with bags to carry their belongings from My Bag My Story.  

Volunteering is an act that Cara says has been “embedded in her DNA.” She’s been encouraged and taught to give back to others throughout her entire life which she credits to her parents. Cara has volunteered all over the United States and has a passion for caring for children specifically. When she was just six years old, her mother took her to volunteer at the Buckner’s Children’s Home in Lubbock, Texas.  She vividly remembers the joy in a child’s eyes when receiving a new pair of shoes.  Since then, Cara believes those lessons and experiences have led her to contribute to society in her own way, one of those being, My Bag My Story. 

Created in 2016, her non-profit organization works to provide bags for children in the foster care system. Cara’s inspiration for this self-run non-profit started when foster children would come to her home with nothing but a trash bag to hold their personal belongings. Noticing that this was unusual, Cara took the initiative to have bags made to give to children. She says that she chose backpacks because they “give the child self-respect and dignity,” something to hold on to, even when they were moving from house to house. 

Cara Finger is working in a number of ways to be a voice to the children in the foster care system, and her valiant efforts are creating change day by day. Cara says, “We can’t make all the difference, but we can make a difference” and she encourages everyone to do their part and serve however they can. Cara is named Nashville’s Volunteer of the Month for her magnanimous heart. She and other volunteers like her are celebrated by Doing Good, a local 501c3 nonprofit which celebrates those who do good. For more information or to nominate someone for Nashville’s Volunteer of the Month, visit DoingGood.tv.

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Doing Good is a 501c3 non-profit which provides marketing and public relations tools, resources, and opportunities to non-profit and government agencies to celebrate their volunteers. www.DoingGood.tv