Donations and Packing

Goodness!  I know it's ridiculous that I'm just getting this post up and I apologize!  I know that you all have to get to the store to make this all work and I should have done this before the weekend.  I do hope you'll all forgive me.  

Before I get to the list of what we need, if I may, I'd like to share a story. 
After the devastating tragedy that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Ct, I heard of many people choosing different avenues to make something good come from the awful.  It seems to be what we do as humans when we feel like we've lost control.

I read about one mom who was taking her child to the movies when a young man walked up to her with an envelope that had prepaid tickets and a note letting her know that the good deed (paying for someone else's tickets) was to honor one of the victims at Sandy Hook elementary. 

Locally, a woman found an envelope on her car at the Chesterfield Mall that had a similar note and $26.  Very touched, and not in need herself, she passed the good deed on to someone else and shared with some friends about what had happened and how it had moved her. Those friends were touched and wanting to keep it going, gave each of their adult children's families $26 to share with someone else in need in honor of the lives lost at Sandy Hook.  I'm so grateful that one of those families thought of Bear Necessities and passed the good deed on to us! 

Have you wanted to do something like this to honor the losses?  I do love to hear about beautiful things like this!

OK.  On to the list for this week.  It's a bit longer as we've gone through most of the reserves from Christmas donations. 

22 19 individual cereal boxes
27 11 breakfast bars
23 cans tuna
23 12 ritz cracker sleeves
18 12 cans soup
14 2 easy mac envelopes
18 fruit cups
12 applesauce
11 1 pudding cups
50 bags cheez its

Please remember, you don't have to get everything to help.  EVERY LITTLE BIT comes together to make enough!

Don't forget to sign up to pack bags with your kids too:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4AAEAA22A64-20122013

Donation needs for this week

Well, I don't know about you but I was just THRILLED to get the notice that breakfast will now be offered at John Weldon!  Having been a teacher, I remember kids coming to school without eating first and I don't know about you but I am positive that I don't perform at my best when I'm hungry!  I'm so thankful for the staff at John Weldon putting this in place for our kids!  Whether a family is struggling financially or just had one of those crazy mornings where time for breakfast just wasn't there, each child can now have a filling breakfast before they start the day.

Our list this week is fairly short but remember our new Wednesday deadline this semester:

7 individual cereal boxes
9 cans of peas
2 nutragrain bars
1 bulk box of peanut free snacks (cheez its, fruity pebbles cereal bars, nutragrain bars, etc.)

A HUGE thank you to everyone who helps!

Needs for this week

Days fly by so quickly and I just realized that I hadn't uploaded our list for this coming week.  We will have people packing on Wednesday so this gives us only MONDAY AND TUESAY to receive donations.  Luckily, it's not a super big list.  Anything you can do is a huge help!

UPDATED 1/14 4:30 P.M.

18 6 cans of soup
17 15 cans ravioli
27 25 12 cans corn
13 raisins
2 applesauce
16 pudding

Thanks to everyone who is able to help this week!

I have also added a link to sign up to pack bags to the "FAQ" page.

Welcome 2013

Happy New year!  I hope that everyone had a relaxing and wonderful Christmas break.  We started the break of with a sickie in the house, we didn't travel before as we'd planned and it made for such a relaxing time together as a family... but the break is over and so kids are back to school and that means that our mission is functioning to feed kids again! 

God used your giving hearts last month to provide the bags that will go home with our kids today!  What a blessing it was to not have to count donations this week but know that God had provided in advance.  Looking toward next week, there are a few things that we'll still need.  If you can pick up any of these items, it just takes each person doing a little for us to have enough!

We still need:

9 Peanut Butter
2 Soy nut or Almond Butter
1 Ritz Cracker sleeve
18 jelly (plastic containers please)


Thank you to everyone for your continued commitment to blessing our kids!  May 2013 be an incredibly blessed year and may you experience Jesus in a new and real way through your service to Him!