Awesome!

We now have everything we need for this week! 

Here's the updated list for the Cycle Break plan:

• 22 peanut butter (please get the 18 oz size.  Their backpacks get so so full and heavy if we do the big ones.)
• 21 jelly (please make sure the container is plastic.  I cannot send home a glass container.)
• 8 envelopes of easy mac
• 6 boxes ritz crackers
• 7 cans of green beans
• 8 cans of corn
• 11 cans of ravioli
• 16 cans of soup
• 7 applesauce cups
• 3 boxes of raisins (they come in packages of 6, so I need three of those.)

I wonder how long it will take us to get all that down to single digits?!  

9/26 Updated List

This week
We still need the following canned items for this week:

• 22 cans of chili
• 14 cans of beefaroni

We already have produce for this week but if you'd like to send some on cycle break, please let me know.

Cycle Break  (Updated list 9/26)
For cycle break... do we still call it cycle break or is it officially fall break now... either way, that will include two weekends and I would love to be able to bless our families with two weekends worth of food.  So, here's what we need to make that happen:

• 22 peanut butter (please get the 18 oz size.  Their backpacks get so so full and heavy if we do the big ones.)
• 21 jelly (please make sure the container is plastic.  I cannot send home a glass container.)
• 20 envelopes of easy mac
• 6 boxes ritz crackers
• 7 cans of green beans
• 10 cans of corn
• 20 cans of ravioli
• 29 cans of soup
• 13 applesauce cups
• 3 boxes of raisins (they come in packages of 6, so I need three of those.)

I am so encouraged because this is already much shorter than it was on Saturday!  Praising God for His provision!

Update, Cycle Break & Birthday Bags

This week
This week we have almost everything to serve our kids on 9/30.  We still need the following:

• 22 cans of chili
• 14 cans of beefaroni

In addition, if anyone wants to provide produce please contact me first to make sure that we don't have an excess of this but that's always welcome too.  Most weeks we receive a VERY generous donation of produce but there are some weeks that we have less.  So, if it's on your heart just send and email or give me a call!

Cycle Break
For cycle break... do we still call it cycle break or is it officially fall break now... either way, that will include two weekends and I would love to be able to bless our families with two weekends worth of food.  So, here's what we need to make that happen:

• 24 peanut butter (please get the 18 oz size.  Their backpacks get so so full and heavy if we do the big ones.)
• 22 jelly (please make sure the container is plastic.  I cannot send home a glass container.)
• 46 envelopes of easy mac
• 6 boxes ritz crackers
• 13 cans of green beans
• 16 cans of corn
• 20 cans of ravioli
• 29 cans of soup
• 15 fruit cups
• 13 applesauce cups
• 3 boxes of 12 cheez its or rold gold pretzels (must be rold gold for peanut free)
• 15 boxes of raisins (they come in packages of 6, so I need three of those.)
• 6 pudding cups 

I know it is a lot for that two week period but I know that it can happen if we all work together!


Birthday Bags
Now, on to the birthday bags... Birthday Bags are mentioned on this site on the "Donations Needed" page but we had our first birthday this week.  We were able to provide a cake mix, icing, Happy Birthday plates and napkins to the birthday child.  This allows them to have some kind of celebration at home.  In addition to that I packed up small bags of skittles and starburst to be shared with classmates.  I don't know about your kids but mine are always so excited to have a birthday treat in class and while I was initially bummed with the new treat rules because it means I can't bring the ridiculously sugary cupcake I usually bring for my kids, it makes sharing a classroom treat for Bear Necessities' kids much easier!  I was so blessed to hear from Mr. Marion on Friday when I was dropping off the bags that the birthday girl's face just lit up when she received the unexpected gifts.  Who'd have thought that a kid would be so excited to receive a cake mix and icing but she was!  Every single day I am more convinced that we are doing a great thing here!

Donations needed by 9/29

Everything has arrived for this week so it's time to look ahead to what our kids will need at that time:

22 cans of chilli
22 cans of beefaroni
6 individual easy mac envelopes
20 cans of peas
20 juice boxes
5 individual bags of pretzels (Rold Gold are peanut free!)
1 box of fruity pebbles treats

I was told yesterday that three of our kiddos will be moving to a different school so that brings our number back to 27.  Mrs. Meyer said that one of the boys asked her if she thought his new school would have good food for him to bring home too.  Sigh.  My heart broke.  I don't know to where they are moving but I'm praying that they'll be blessed by their new community too!  I know that week after week there will be times that money is short for us or we will see other things that we'll want to buy but I pray that we remember the huge difference it makes when we all give just a little.  It isn't that one person is doing this great amazing thing but that this community of people is doing a great amazing thing by working together!  Let's keep it up!

We're making a difference

Well, I just never know what to expect from day to day with this.  Do you ever feel like that?  You're going through a normal day and all of a sudden you read something and BAM!  So, anyway, I got tired of editing earlier and so I walked downstairs.  Counted up how many of each thing we have for this week so that I could post what's still needed.  We're up to 30 kids, by the way.  Walked back upstairs.  Logged in to blogspot to give the totals and saw that there was a comment that's been left.  (You can do that, you know.  At the bottom of each post, you can make a comment.  It's kind of fun.  You should try it.)  Anyway, I digress...   :)

I open the comment to read and publish it and my heart just melted!  I've said that I didn't need to know who dropped stuff off, though it's always fun to chat with those that choose to stop in for a bit.  I've also said that I never needed a thank you from anyone for doing this but getting one just now blessed me, humbled me and inspired me.  I don't know who left this comment, and I don't really need to know, but I want to share it with you because it's for all of you too!  I cannot do this alone and each of you has been so necessary in making this work.  This is the comment that was left:

"As a family that is blessed by this group I want to say THANK YOU! I am going to try to volunteer to help put together the items. This has been incredible for us. I know that my kids will get some fun and good food and not have to worry when they open the pantry and see it getting empty. For the last few weeks we haven't seen it that way and that has been such a relief. I am inspired to give back in ways that I can. THANK YOU to all of you."   

THANK YOU to whomever you are!  It is our privilege to help make your life just a little easier!  Thank you for letting us know that we're making a difference in your life!

I am so grateful to be able to do this and am so thankful to Mrs. Crigler for allowing us to do this at John Weldon and to Mr. Marion and Mrs. Meyer for coordinating on their end and to the secretaries in the office who help me out each week when I bring in the bags!  I am also grateful for EACH OF YOU who bring food, pray, pack bags and help me deliver them!  Sigh.  Yep, I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy now.

Alas, there's still some donations needed this week and here's the long list:

5 cans of soup
11 cans of corn

That's it!  Let's keep on making a difference!!!

Sign Up to Help

This week marks the fourth week that we have packed bags for kids.  Every single week we have been provided with exactly what we needed.  Sometimes it shows up on my doorstep anonymously.  Sometimes I see the person and get to talk to them.  Sometimes people wait for me at the door of the grocery store to give me a bag or two and sometimes my husband comes home from someone else's kid's birthday party with cases of food.  It's become this amazing experience for us to see all the different ways that God provides for Bear Necessities through this community.  At times my eyes well up with tears as I look in awe at a pile of groceries that have been donated to feed kids whose names we don't even know... yet, we likely see their face... and at another time or place in life, it could be our own.  "Love your neighbor as yourself" Jesus once said and this community is doing just that through Bear Necessities.

Many have contributed financially but not everyone can.  I've spoken to some that desperately wish they could but just cannot.  I urge you to not feel a moment of guilt.  It isn't the giving from guilt that will make this work but cheerful giving.  If you've been reading about BN this month and wishing you could contribute... or maybe you've contributed cases but wish you could do more... now is the time to sign up.  Each week I have had the privilege of packing the bags for the kids and I will continue as I am needed.  I have allowed my children and some of their friends the privilege to pack the bags.  I have delivered the bags and so have other women and while it gives me incredible joy to do so, I want others to know that joy as well.  I honestly feel greedy getting to have all the fun!

So, the following link will take you to a calendar on VolunteerSpot.com where you can sign up to help.  You will have to register your email address but they've promised NO SPAM is sent.  (Please let me know if this happens so that I can look into another planning site.  I do not want this to hinder volunteers!)   They will send a reminder email to help you remember when you've signed up.  Bags are packed on Thursday nights during a regular week where our last day is Friday.  On short weeks, we'll pack the night before the last day of that week.  What is easiest is to pack right after school but if that won't work for you, please call me and see if we can arrange a different time in the evening.  Packing the bags will take about 20 minutes.  Bags are delivered on the last day of the week.  If it is a Friday, it is usually at 11 a.m.  If it's a short week, it will vary. Carrying the bags into the school will take about 5 minutes.

Thank you, in advance, for your time!

www.tinyurl.com/BearNecessitiesJWE

Updated needs for next week 9/15

Now that we are serving 29 kids I did a recount for next week and we currently need:

10 cans of soup
12 cans of ravioli
10 cans of corn

We also now have a kiddo with peanut allergies so I need some cascadian farms brand or Nutragrain Brand granola bars.  If you know of any other safe snacks that are peanut free, I'll have to pack that bag separately. 

This has been a fun week for me.  I figured out how to check my stats on here and was totally shocked to see that this blog has been viewed by people in four countries and three different continents!  I have had a couple of people contact me about possibly starting a Bear Necessities program at other schools.  Seeing so many prayers answered in such a short period of time is just blowing me away DAILY!  

With that, I would like to ask anyone that would commit to praying and would like to receive emails about how to pray specifically for Bear Necessities, please comment below with your email address (or private message me at dorinda_peyton@yahoo.com) and I will start a list.  I don't know how often I'll be sending requests but I definitely have some and I know that there are some prayer warriors out there! 

Hunger Hurts

Last week I read this article on abcnews.com that made me even more grateful that Bear Necessities has begun serving kids.  As I sit here with my Madeline, who is awaiting the been-on-my-antibiotic-for-24-hrs-to-go-back-to-school, she asked about the article I was rereading.  I was stunned when she said "I bet it's hard to work when you're hungry."  She's right.  We all know it... in theory... but I doubt that most of us know what it's like to be really hungry and still be expected to perform like these kids are.  According to this news article "one in four children in the country is living without consistent access to enough nutritious food to live a healthy life."  It's hard for me to imagine really.  One in FOUR...  Almost every day I have at least four kids in my car.  Now, I know that they aren't the ones going without but if I think of their faces and ask myself, which one would you choose to be the one to go without enough nutritious food to live  a healthy life?  I simply could not choose.  Each and every one of them matters and deserves to have their needs met.  The same is true of all kids! 

I'm including a link for you to read the article but I just wanted to say THANK YOU again for all the support for Bear Necessiteis!  When I went to talk to Mrs. Crigler last year I wasn't even sure if there was a need at John Weldon but there definitely is!  I can only imagine what all God desires to do for these kids but being able to help them each week by keeping them fed is the first step and we're making it together.  I know it sounds cliche` but together, we really do make a difference! 


HUNGER HURTS by abcnews

Keep on climbing...

That's what our numbers are doing!  We are now up to 29 students that we are serving on a weekly basis.  This means that for THIS FRIDAY I will need:

2 jellies
1 box Ritz Crackers

We had enough of everything else already!  Praise God!

AMAZING!!!

As of today we have everything to serve this Friday and some extra for the next week!  I am simply blown away every single day with the amount of support that  we have received so far!  Each week we have provided food for the kids to have over the weekend and I am confident that it is blessing them... I KNOW it is blessing me to be a part of it!!!

Since we have everything for this friday, September 16, I have looked ahead to the following week.  We need the following by September 22:

9 cans of soup
10 cans of ravioli
10 easy mac envelopes
11 cans of corn
5 boxes of raisins

It's not much and I know that we can do it!  I've had several people say that they're skipping a Starbucks or an "fun but unnecessary" shopping trip to buy for Bear Necessities and I am so grateful!  I'm so touched by the support that has been given so far.  An amazing thing is happening here and I pray that each of you that is contributing knows that it's because of your willingness to serve.  I've often had people ask if I believe that God won't give you more than you can handle.  I always respond the same way.  "Nope.  I'm confident that God always gives me more than I can do myself so that I remain dependent upon Him."  That is totally what has happened here.  I cannot do this but with your service and obedience, it is happening!  Thank you for embracing this effort to lift up the kids at John Weldon and let them ALL feel loved!

Donations Needed for Next Week by 9/15

We will need the following items to fulfill the needs of our kids next week:

6 small peanut butter
17 jelly in plastic container
6 individual cereal boxes
20 cans of green beans (the regular size please)
8 fruit cups

I am working on a calendar that will allow you to sign up to come and pack bags as well as help deliver them to the school.  I am hoping to be able to post it in the next day or two.  Thank you to so many that have helped serve these kids!

Update 9/6 Donations Still Needed

The following items are still needed this week:

1   box of instant oatmeal packets
13 cans of chilli
7  cans of peas

If you are interested in signing up to have your family come and pack bags for Bear Necessities, please comment on this blog post so that I have an idea of how many would like to participate.  You may want to pack bags once or on a regular basis and either is totally fine!  I will be sending out an email in the near future about this if there is an interest.  Thank you!

9/5 Donations needed by Thursday

We currently need the following to fulfill this week's service to our kids:

3 individual boxes of cereal
2 boxes of instant oatmeal packets
18 cans of chilli
20 cans of peas

We have enough of everything else donated but remember that the following items are sent home every week:  boxes of individual envelopes of easy mac, applesauce, cereal, and oatmeal.  I am hoping to receive the above items by Thursday morning so that I can have next week's needs posted.

New FAQ:

Can I send items that are not on the donation list?

Sure!  I have received several items that are not on the donation list.  What I plan to do with this is to create a menu from those items and send them home with the kids... as long as they can fit into their backpacks.  Items REALLY need to be already in individual serving sizes to be sent home in this backpack program.  If I receive enough of an item that is not on the list and cannot fit in the menu, I will still send it home with the kids... as long as it will fit into their backpacks.  So, the two key factors is 1) it must fit in their backpacks and 2) I must have enough for every child. 

If they cannot fit into their backpacks, they will be donated to Calvary Church's Food Pantry that feeds several families each week.  The bottom line is that, together, we are serving others!

Thank You!

Thank you so much to all who have served through giving donations so far!  I simply cannot explain how amazing it is to see that pile of groceries on the front step each time I come home.  I pray that it is as fun and exciting for you to drop off the surprise!  Please keep it up!  This is a WEEKLY ministry to these kids and requires that we not forget them! 

"Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity." –Luke 6:38