Backpack Ministry

I am sure our Backpack Kids are happy that they have only four more weeks of school. We currently have 21 children and will furnish food for them as long as the school requests.

Thanks to everyone who has supported our Backpack Ministry in any way. Due to your help we have been able to supply our children with healthy and delicious food. God bless each one of you.

Please pray that each of our children will have a safe and happy summer.

For the month of May please donate packets of oatmeal.

For the past year even though our ABW ladies have not been meeting in person, they are still hard at work.   They have two projects ongoing.  The first is our Quarters for Grades project for Weirton Christian Center and the second is our used postage stamp mission project.  These projects have been part of the ABW for quite a few years.   There is a box on the counter in the office for your used postage stamps.  Donations for the Quarters for Grades project can be turned into the church office.    The ladies are anxious to get back to meeting in person for their monthly meetings and helping with the ABW projects.

Spring is finally here with a few warm days and spring showers. I am sure our Backpack

Ministry children are thankful to be able to play outside once again. Last fall we were given about 500 jars of peanut butter from Helping Hands. While doing inventory recently we found over 150 jars would expire before we could use them. With help from Debbie V. we learned that Fairdale Freewill Baptist could use some peanut butter for their Backpack program. We donated 160 jars to them for their children. They were grateful to receive the donation and we were blessed by sharing our bounty.

We are continuing to pack food bags for our children weekly and delivering them to Beckley Elementary School. Thanks everyone for all your prayers and support to this ministry. May God Bless You!

For the month of April, please donate fruit cups.

Spring is almost here and our Backpack Kids are soon to be back in classes five days a week. I am sure they are looking forward to getting back to a more normal routine.

We have continued to provide food every week for our children and will continue as long as necessary.

I have been amazed at the kindness and generosity of our congregation and friends that have supported our Backpack Ministry. We have been able to buy the food necessary to feed the children a varied menu and things they might really like. May God bless everyone who has supported this ministry whether it is by donations of money, food or prayers. Thank You!

For the month of March please donate Ramen Noodles.

Happy New Year! Everyone is praying for 2021 to be the year of returning to a more normal life.

Our Backpack Ministry was busy in December shopping for gifts to send to our 21 children. We had lots of volunteers who searched to find the prefect gifts for each child. When everything as wrapped and returned to the church it took two trucks to transport them to the school! Thank you volunteers for your time and talents to complete this project.

Thanks to everyone who donated money, food or prayed for our Backpack Ministry and the children served.

For the months of January and February please donate cans of beans.

Christmas shopping for our Backpack Kids has started. Volunteers are purchasing gifts for 21 children at Beckley Elementary School. Each child has a wish list for items they would like to have. The volunteers will purchase and wrap gifts to be taken to the school on December 10th. The guidance counselor will notify the parent or guardian of every child to pick up the presents from the school to give to the children for Christmas.

Many thanks go to everyone who has taken the time to shop and wrap every gift.

We continue to pack food bags to be given to the children every weekend. We plan to continue sending food weekly even if classes go to all virtual.

Thanks to all of you who have donated food, money or prayed for our Backpack Ministry. May God Bless You!

For the month of December please donate cans of Vienna Sausages.

November is here and that brings thoughts of Thanksgiving. Of course we are very thankful every day for the support we have gotten from our church family and friends. May God bless you all!

Soon we will start Christmas shopping for our Backpack Kids. Each year a teacher helps each child make a Wish List. Volunteers from our church select a child, or maybe a couple of children, to shop for. Usually they ask for clothing, shoes, toys, art supplies, etc. We don’t always get everything on the list but we try to get as much as possible.

If you could like to volunteer to shop please call me, Helen Greene, at 304-253-1069 or 304-228-9204. We will give you cash to make the purchases. As soon as the school gives us the lists you can select your child. It is fun to shop for these children and search for items on their Wish List.

For the month of November please donate packets of hot chocolate.

Our Backpack Ministry started delivering food to Beckley Elementary on September 18th. Due to the COVID Virus we have had to make several changes. We must deliver the food on Fridays since there are no students in the building. We notify the office we are at the school and they send someone out to take the food bags inside. We are not allowed inside the building. They give the children their food on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Currently we have 17 children with more to be added.

We have been blessed with the gift of 363 jars of peanut butter given to us by Helping Hands. Kroger stores donated to Helping Hands peanut butter given by customers during a special Feed America campaign. Since Helping Hands had an abundance of peanut butter given to them they were kind enough to gift us 363 jars. They also donated 90 jars to Beckley Elementary for their emergency food pantry. Thanks to Helping Hands for sharing their bounty!

Thanks go to each one of you who has donated food, money or prayed for our Backpack Ministry and the children we feed. May God bless you all!

For the month of October please donate applesauce or fruit cups.

Schools are scheduled to open this month whether in the classroom or virtual classes. I have contacted the Guidance Counselor at Beckley Elementary School to tell her we are ready to provide food for our Backpack Kids. We are unsure as to how we will need to pack and deliver the backpacks but we will do whatever is necessary to provide food for the children’s weekends.

Thanks to everyone who has donated food or money for this ministry. We hope you will continue to pray for our Backpack Kids during these uncertain times. May God bless each of you.

For the month of September please donate packs of instant oatmeal.

Planning for the upcoming school term is tricky. Will students attend classes in school buildings with their friends or will they continue to have classes in their homes with parents acting as teachers? No one knows yet. Whatever is decided we will continue to send them meals for the weekends.

We have decided not to purchase backpacks this year. Instead we will purchase grocery tote bags from ALDI’S for 10 cents each. These bags will hold the food very nicely and eliminate the need to pick up backpacks each week from the school. Every week each child will get a new bag eliminating the chance of contamination of germs between the students and the Backpack team.

Our Backpack teams will start packing food as soon as the school officials notify us that food is needed. Please pray for our Backpack Kids to be healthy and happy. Prayers are also needed for our Backpack Ministry to be able to continue providing nourishment for needy children. May God bless each person who has donated food or money and those who have prayed for our ministry.

For the months of July and August please donate pudding cups.