About the Nonprofit
Visit Our Website
Turn Away No Longer Inc (TANL) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in Anderson, Indiana committed to changing the way foster care begins for central Indiana youth. We do this through a variety of programs, including Katie’s Closet, Swagpacks™, Boots on the Ground, and The TANL House.
Katie’s Closet is a closet that allows foster families everywhere to come to Anderson and shop for the foster children in their home. The Closet carries new and gently used clothing, shoes, hygiene items, books, toys, and more. Katie’s relies entirely on donations from the community, and we have been blessed to have an abundance of items for our closet.
Swagpacks™ are a fun name for backpacks we give to children entering foster care throughout central Indiana. Oftentimes, the day of entry into foster care is the toughest day of a child’s life–they are removed from parents, friends, their home, schools and communities by a stranger. They are expected to acclimate quickly into a different environment, without anything but the clothes on their backs. Our hope is to provide each child with a backpack that contains personal items they can call their own, supplies that make their first night a bit more comfortable, and the knowledge that they are loved by us and there is hope for them. Each backpack contains the following items, dependent on age: pajamas, shampoo/conditioner, diapers/underwear, socks, toothbrush & toothpaste, deodorant, lotion, books/coloring books, a stuffed animal, a blanket, and a note letting them know they’re loved.
The community outreach program Boots on the Ground aims to expand our reach and use all the resources we are given to fill our community’s greatest needs. Each Boots on the Ground project allows as direct of involvement for donors as possible, and currently we have two projects: the Christmas Angels Project and the Blue Bridge Project. Christmas Angels occurs annually, and matches up families in need of assistance with our generous donors, fondly referred to as Angels. Angels have the opportunity to select a child or family in need in Madison County and shop for the children’s wish lists that Christmas. We allow all families with foster children as well as low income families in Madison County to submit wish lists for their children. Our second Boots on the Ground project is the Blue Bridge Project, which provides coats to anyone in need in our community. Approximately once a month, volunteers gather to hang new and gently used coats on the Blue Bridge, a bridge often utilized by homeless individuals in Madison County. In 2021, we gave 1000 coats to community members in need, and aim to increase that number in 2022.
Our most recent & ambitious endeavor is The TANL House. The TANL House will serve as a refuge for children awaiting foster care placement. Currently, kids sit in cramped DCS offices, less than optimal hotels, and even homeless shelters waiting for a foster family to take them in. The TANL House will allow youth a safe and comfortable place to sleep, play, shower and eat as they await this critical placement.
Through all of our programs, we meet our organizational goal of helping youth in need throughout Indiana communities.