Blessing Bags How To

Have you ever come across a homeless individual and felt totally uncomfortable?

You see them and you know they are in need, but you are not sure what to do. You know that handing them money is not the best thing. But, you also see that they clearly have some needs. Their lips are chapped. They are hungry. They are thirsty. They are asking for help.

How can you help?

Here is a simple idea - blessing bags.

[photo: joy's hope]

This was such an easy project. We are now going to keep a few "Blessing Bags" in our car so that when we do happen to see someone on the streets who is homeless, we can hand them a Blessing Bag. I first learned of these bags from my friend, Julie. I am using the picture of her bags (see above) because the ones we took were taken in horrible lighting and turned out really grainy and hard to see what is inside of them.

If you'd like to make your own Blessing Bags, this is what you would need:

Gallon size Ziplock bags

items to go in the bags, such as:

chap stick

packages of tissues

toothbrush and toothpaste

comb

soap

trail mix

granola bars

crackers

pack of gum

band aids

mouthwash

coins (could be used to make a phone call, or purchase a food item)

hand wipes

you could also put in a warm pair of socks, and maybe a Starbucks gift card

Assemble all the items in the bags, and maybe throw in a note of encouragement. Seal the bags and stow in your car for a moment of providence.

This would be a great activity to do with some other families. Each family could bring one of the items going into the bags (ex: toothbrushes). Set up all the items around a table and walk around it with the ziplocks and fill the bags.

Weekly Recap

Hopefully, the Weekly Recap sheet came home with your child.

We had a great day with the kids, and thanks to all the volunteer parents' help - things went pretty smoothly during our activity time. The kids were a whirlwind of activity - they made blessing bags for the homeless, and they made "Love Notes" boxes for their family.

Our character trait this week was "ENCOURAGE" and the definition we gave the kids was "Showing support for others with our words and actions."

Our activities were the perfect way for the kids to practice this: They showed support in their actions by preparing the blessing bags for the homeless. These bags were given to the homeless in Santa Ana. One woman said, "I am going to sleep with this under my head so that no one can take anything out of it." They obviously were blessed to receive the items in the bags. [ Click here for easy instructions on how to make Blessing Bags.]

The kids then got to practice showing support for others with their words by making the Love Notes boxes.

[love notes]

[inside the box are post its & a description]

And now, we have these appearing all over the house:

This is simply a tangible way for us to practice encouraging each other with our words. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a whole culture of kids living in this neighborhood who lived with eyes open with gratitude and spoke their thanks to their families, their teachers, their coaches, their peers? What if they learned to walk through life with eyes to see who could use an encouraging word? This is our goal! If you'd like to make some love notes boxes to share with others, click here for the tutorial.

We are looking forward to this week with the kids. We are going to be working on a project for veterans at the VA hospital in Long Beach in honor of Memorial Day.

The kids do not need to bring anything to donate this week. But, just a heads up for the following week (6/1), we would like for kids to bring a gently used sports ball to donate.

Weekly Recap AND News for this week

We had so much fun this last week. Really, we should not be allowed to have this much fun.

The kids learned about DILIGENCE - working hard to finish something. This is a character trait that they will get a lot of practice with.

We had a wacky obstacle course to practice diligence that involved lots of hopping and carrying a marshmellow on the end of a spoon that was balanced in the kids' mouths.

Like I said, we should not be allowed to have this much fun!

The kids also made another lovely bead bracelet for the women living at the homeless shelter. For some of them, that was an exercise of diligence too, and we are proud of them for sticking with it, even when they did not feel like stringing beads any longer.

For THIS WEEK:

Please help your kids practice their memory verse from last week (see below on the the recap sheet).

As our "giving" activity this week, we will be putting together "Blessing Bags" for the homeless. The kids will fill gallon sized zip lock bags with items that will bless people living on the streets (handi-wipes, granola bars, nuts, band aids, toothbrush, etc.).

We are asking each child to bring some quarters from their own banks (or from money they have earned) to put in the bags. These coins can be used by the homeless to purchase a warm cup of coffee or make a phone call at a pay phone.

We are suggesting that each child bring 4 quarters, but they can bring what they would like to give.

We will have our donation box out at registration this week. The blessing bags will be one of our most expensive activities so if you would like to donate to help cover the costs that would be great!

Thanks to everyone who had made donations so far. It has helped out a ton!

Here is the Weekly Recap sheet from last week:

This Week

We are excited about this week!

A couple details:

• We'd love for the kids to bring a gently used toy to donate to the kids living at a local homeless shelter (the Isaiah House in Santa Ana).

• Also, very important - due to the wonderful turn out (we are amazed and so stoked), we feel that in order to keep things moving smoothly between activities and small group time with our junior counselors, that we could use a minimum of 4 parent volunteers each week to be extra hands on deck during our activities time.

If you are interested in helping out in one of the upcoming weeks, please shoot us an email. Our goal is to be intentional with this time and for it to be as meaningful as possible for the kids attending, and having some extra hands on deck with help that.

We would ask that you arrive at 1:30 and stay until 2:40.

We look forward to seeing our Kwav's this week!

Pictures Really Are Worth A Thousand Words

["Sam", the puppet, explains what it means to be homeless and living in a shelter]

[our incredible junior counselors]

[the set up crew]

[book bags made by the kids and stuffed with donated books - ready to go to Shalimar]

[delivering the book bags to Shalimar]

Weekly Recap

This week our story focused on Jesus and his disciples in the midst of the storm. We were able to talk to the kids about fear and how they can pray for peace.

We also discussed contentment and what it looks like to be thankful for what we have. Dialogue about this in your homes - there are many opportunities for our kids (and ourselves) to practice and cultivate contentment.

The kids had a blast making something special for their mommies! Our goal was to make bracelets for women living in a shelter in Santa Ana, but our time was a bit too short. The kids did learn about what a homeless shelter is and that there are plenty of women and children who live with that reality on a daily basis.

We wish all the KWAV mommies a Happy Mother's Day!

Weekly Recap

This week our story focused on the little boy who had a willing and generous heart. He only had a few fish and a couple loaves of bread, but he shared all that he had.

Our discussion centered around what our Kwav's kids have that they can share.

... PLEASE CONTINUE THESE CONVERSATIONS AT HOME ...

How can we use what we have to help others?

How can our two hands help others (at home, at school, in our neighborhood, in our community, around the world etc.)?

How can they use their mouths to help others (speaking kind words, etc.)?

A willing heart is connected to the memory verse for this week (see above), and the character trait we are working on is BEHAVE.

The goal is for kids to understand what it looks like to do what they are told with a happy heart.

Continue this conversation as well. Affirm them (notice and make a big deal of it) when you do see them exhibit generosity, a willing heart, and obedience with a great attitude.

Our "serve" activity this week was to write a short note to the children at Shalimar Learning Center.

We also had the kids decorate a border on a canvas book bag (the rest of the book bag will be decorated by the child who receives the bag). The books that were donated today are going into the bags and will be given to the kids at Shalimar. We are very excited about the partnership with this great organization and will continue to work with Shalimar, as well as other great organizations.

Next week we will have another "serve" activity for the kids to work on, but we are not asking for the kids to bring anything from home. If you are interested in donating a few dollars to help cover activity costs, there is a small donation box set up at our registration table.

Have a great week, and thanks for being a Kwav Family!