Backpack Ministry

School is back in session and we will be packing food for our children as soon as the guidance counselor notifies us they are ready.

We have been shopping all summer for food to stock our pantry. We have purchased several items from the Mountaineer Food Bank including 8oz containers of shelf safe milk, juice boxes, cans of chicken and tuna. They are donating 72 jars of peanut butter which is a great blessing.

God has blessed us over the past 10 years in providing us what is necessary to help these children and we look forward to continuing this help. Thanks to everyone who has donated food, money or prayed for our Backpack Ministry. May God bless each of you!

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

School is starting on August 24th and we are preparing for a new school year. We feed children at Beckley Elementary that may not have food at home on the weekends. We will search local stores as well as the Mountaineer Food Bank for bargains. Prices continue to go up but we do our best to find the lowest prices available.

We are asking once again for donations of peanut butter. Every other week we try to give the children a jar of peanut butter. Each week we give them a loaf of fresh bread as well. We have purchased small packets of jelly for them so that they can make PB&J sandwiches. So, if you can, please donate 12oz. jars of peanut butter.

Thanks to each one of you for your donations of food, money and prayers for our Backpack Ministry. May God Bless You All!

School is out and I am sure our Backpack Children are looking forward to sleeping late and spending their days playing.

Our Backpack pantry is almost empty so we will shop all summer to restock it with good healthy food for the next school term. We try to find bargains but as we all know there are very few. Thanks to the generosity of our congregation and friends we will be able to purchase what we need. Thanks to everyone who has donated food, money and prayers to our Backpack Ministry. May God Bless Each One of You!

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

I am sure our Backpack children are counting down the days left until summer vacation. The school calendar shows June 6 as the last day. We have provided food every week to ensure our children will have enough to eat during the weekends.

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

For the month of May, please donate Ramen Noodles.

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.