Laura Gosselin took up writing mainly because her teachers complimented her work. “It was the only thing I was ever good at in school,” she admitted. This skill would eventually lead Gosselin to securing a Master’s in Fine Arts, landing a children’s book deal and getting hired at Habit Burger & Grill as its PR and communications lead – this was her expected path.
But a chance dinner led her to an unexpected side hustle as the cofounder of Give Back Pack. Her friend, Holly Hoffman Ratzlaff, had just come from her child law class that had covered the nuances of the foster care system, which became the topic of discussion that evening.
“I could not believe that a social worker shows up to a house with a trash bag, tells the kid to collect all their things and then takes them away,” Gosselin remembers thinking. “I know that it’s for their best interest in most cases, but at the same time, it just felt so scary.”
She went home that night, troubled, but without an immediate solution, she went on with her daily life. It wasn’t until Christmas that Ratzlaff and Gosselin took action, wanting to give to foster kids instead of buying gifts for their friends who already had all their needs met. The pair founded the Give Back Pack, and that holiday season, donated brand new backpacks, stuffed animals, blankets and pillows to Orange County Social Services, ensuring that foster kids could carry what they cherished in a backpack that they owned – not a trash bag. That was 10 years ago. Since then, the charity has grown to include brand-new backpacks filled with school supplies for back-to-school season, Halloween costumes (new and gently used), and toiletry bags with gift cards and other essentials for teens during the holidays.
Today, Gosselin still pursues her two passions, dividing her time between the Give Back Pack and writing communications campaigns for Habit Burger & Grill. Learn more about her Habit Burger & Grill role, her side hustle and how the two coexist in a symbiotic relationship.
You obviously have a heart for children. Tell us more about your children’s books.
Living in California, my husband and I had connections in the entertainment industry and were approached by an agent who had a series of illustrated books that needed an author. Our daughter had night terrors at the time, so we wrote a story about these monsters, called the Pinkaboos, who scare away the nightmares in little kids’ dreams. It was a really cool experience – we got to travel around, promoting the books at schools, libraries and bookstores. We even appeared on local newscasts.
But selling books is a hard business, and in the end, they didn’t fly off the shelves. It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to let go of; the harsh reality that they were never going to take off.
How do you keep your writing sharp post-Pinkaboos?
I’m lucky enough that I get to write, and I get to write in a creative way because we’re always doing these weird and wild campaigns at Habit! Our chief marketing officer, Jack Hinchliffe, is a creative visionary. So, I feel fulfilled at the end of the day; I get to flex that muscle all the time.
Leading communications for the brand that boasts the No. 1 burger in the United States is more than a full-time job. How do you also run a nonprofit?
At night, I’ll send emails, responding to groups that are generous enough to donate to us. We even got the CEO of Tilly’s to sell us high quality backpacks at a steep discount because we want these kids to have something they feel proud of.
On the weekends, it’s a family affair. Our daughters and my mom all pack backpacks and end up with backaches by the end because you’re constantly bending over. In the fall, we pack them with school supplies. In October, we provide Halloween costumes, and in December, it’s all about holiday gifts. Thank goodness, social services has a big truck that they drive to my house and pick everything up.
How are these backpacks making a difference?
We have 3,000 foster kids and only 300 available homes. Without a home, the kids are sent to institutions and sleep in a big room with bunk beds. And once they grow up, only 11% are deemed successful, and the definition of success in this case means that they hold at least a minimum wage job.
I can’t fix the system, but I can make sure that many foster kids have a toothbrush and toothpaste, so they feel clean, that they have a stuffed animal to hold when they’re lonely, that they have a pillow of their own to sleep on and that all of this is held in a quality backpack, not a trash bag. We cover the basics, so they can focus on more important matters, like their long roads ahead.
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