Backpack Ministry

Spring is here and the weather is improving. Our Backpack Children will start their Spring Break on April 7th and will have a whole week out of class. We are praying that the children will have fun during their break and that they will have adequate food.

After the Spring Break only six weeks of school remain. It seems we just started the 2022-2023 school term. We continually shop every week to keep our pantry stocked. Finding food that is reasonably priced is becoming more of a problem but God has seen fit to provide money for our purchases.

Thanks to each one of you who has donated food, money and prayers for our Backpack Ministry. May God bless each one of you.

For the month of April please donate 12oz jars of peanut butter.

Spring is almost here but with the mild weather we have had this winter we might think it has already arrived I know we all want to see robins and blooming flowers in our yards but we will just have to wait a little longer. We have gained three new students to our Backpack Ministry in February. The need for food is great for so many children in our area and we are glad to help them in any way we can. We continue to send two breakfast meals, two lunch meals, two dinner meals, a bag of snacks and a loaf of bread to each child every week.

Without your donations of food, money and prayers we could not continue this ministry. Thank God for such kind people. May God bless each one of you.

For the month of March please donate applesauce cups.

As winter drags on, we continue to take food bags to our Backpack Children weekly. We send foods like oatmeal and hot cocoa packs to warm their bodies in the winter. Every other week we send them a jar of peanut butter and every week a fresh loaf of bread.

As everyone knows, food prices are going up every day. Last fall I could buy bread at Aldis for 87 cents a loaf. This week I paid $1.29 per loaf. Thank God we have funds to buy what our children need.

Thanks to everyone who has donated money, food and prayers for our Backpack Children. May God Bless each of you!

For the month of February, please continue to donate 12oz. jars of peanut butter.

All of our shopping, wrapping and delivering Christmas gifts for our Backpack Children is over. Thanks to our wonderful volunteers we were able to provide clothing and toys for 24 children this year. We needed two trucks to get them all delivered to Beckley Elementary School. I am sure we made lots of happiness happen for our children on Christmas morning.

We will continue to provide food bags to the children starting January 5th.

Many thanks to everyone who volunteered their time. money and food for our Backpack Ministry. May God bless each one of you!

For the month of January please donate 12-ounce jars of peanut butter.

Christmas shopping has started for our Backpack Children. This year we are shopping for 24 children. Their wish lists vary from shirts and pants to skateboards. We try to purchase as many of their wishes as possible. Our volunteers who shop are thrifty and smart shoppers. After purchasing gifts they wrap each one and put them in a large bag marked for their child. We are so thankful for each one of our volunteers who take their time to help make Christmas special for each of the children.

We are also thankful for each person who has donated cash, food and prayers for our Backpack Ministry. May God Bless You!

For the month of December please donate Vienna Sausages.

November brings seven extra days of no school for our Backpack children. We try to send extra food to them to help with those days that they are not fed at school. We must be mindful of the extra weight each item adds to their food bag and pack accordingly.

Soon we should have the Christmas wish lists for our students and start shopping. We need volunteers to help shop and wrap the gifts. If you are interested in helping let me know.

Thanks to everyone who donates food, money and prayers for our Backpack children. May God bless each one of you.

For the month of November please donate pudding cups.

We are busy packing food bags for our Backpack Kids at Beckley Elementary School. Our pantry is well stocked and we constantly hunt for healthy food that is reasonably priced. Every week each child receives six meals, two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, a loaf of bread and a bag of snacks.

It won’t be long before we will be shopping for Christmas gifts for the children. A teacher helps each child fill out a wish list for Christmas gifts. We have $100.00 to spend for each child. First, we purchase the clothing needs on the list then buy toys they may want. It is surprising how many nice gifts our volunteers can buy by shopping for bargains.

If you would like to volunteer to shop for one of our children please contact me, Helen Greene, at 304-253-1069. We will start shopping in November.

Thanks to everyone who has donated food, money or prayers for our Backpack Ministry. May God Bless You!

For the month of October please donate hot chocolate packets.

School is in session again and soon we will be sending food bags to the students at Beckley Elementary School. We have been busy restocking our Backpack pantry. Food prices are constantly going up but we search for the lowest prices available.

God has blessed our Backpack Ministry from the start. After eight years we are still going strong. We have been able to supply weekend food for every student that has been referred to us.

Thanks to everyone who has donated money, food and prayed for our ministry. May God Bless each of you!

Currently we are shopping for our Backpack Ministry to restock our food pantry. This month we will receive an order from the Mountaineer Food Bank. That order consists of canned chunk chicken, macaroni and cheese dinners and breakfast cereals. The food bank prices are generally less than our local grocery stores but they don’t always offer products we can use.

A big “Thank You” to everyone who has given food, cash or prayers to our ministry. May God Bless You!

Please donate 16oz jars of peanut butter for the months of July and August.

Another school year is over and we are already shopping for the next school term. As food prices soar it is more difficult to find bargains but like everyone else we will pay what is necessary to buy the food for our backpack children.

This past year we have prepared approximately 350 food bags for our children. Each bag has food for two breakfast meals, two lunch meals, two dinner meals, a loaf of bread and a bag of snacks. That is a lot of food!

God has blessed this ministry from the beginning. Our congregation as well as friends have supported us with money and food donations every week. Thanks to each person who has helped in any way to support our Backpack Ministry. May God richly bless you! Please continue to pray that our children have a happy and safe summer.

For the month of June please donate 16oz jars of peanut butter.