Update for last week of August

We currently have 27 students at two schools that we are serving.  We are so grateful that the Lord is allowing us to serve these students and their families! 

This week we will need a few donations to fill the bags:

27 oatmeal
23 cans of chili
27 individual bags of cheez its

Each year we help the elementary counselors so that they aren't having to purchase too much with their own money, though we all know that they just do it in other ares anyway but we get to take this burden from them.  They keep snacks in the office for kids who do not have one and are hungry.  So we also need a peanut free snack item donated as well.  This could be nutragrain bars, cheez its, popcorn or some other approved snack.  We also donate a bucket of bubble gum or several packages of gum.  If someone could drop those off as well, that would be wonderful!

2015-2016 School Year Restocking

It happens every single time.  Summer flies by and there just isn't enough time.  We blink and it's time to put away the swim trunks and go get school supplies.  Bear Necessities will, again, be serving students at John Weldon Elementary and Frances Howell Middle School.  It has been a privilege to see this community of people surround these schools and make sure that no child goes hungry any day of the week! 

Our actual numbers will come in within the first few weeks of school after applications to the program have gone home and been returned.  In the mean time we are preparing the pantry and creating our online sign ups.  Inventory has been taken and we see that there will be some immediate food needs in order to fulfill our commitment to the kids.  The following items need to be restocked:

oatmeal*
ritz crackers*
easy mac envelopes*
fruit cups*
applesauce*
nutragrain bars*
raisins
chili
beefaroni
tuna

*item is sent home multiple weekends per month

As you are preparing for the school year, please remember to pick up a few items from the list! 

Thank you so much to everyone who contributes, whether it be through prayer or food donation!

Last week of school needs

This is the last post until summer.  Since next week is the last week of school, packing will happen on Monday and so we need everything THIS WEEKEND:

6 sleeves of ritz crackers
25 fruit cups
26 applesauce cups

If you can pick up just a couple of things, it all adds up and is so appreciated!

Thanks!

What we need

Just 25 days of school left… wait a minute.  Maybe you didn't grasp the fullness of that…

JUST 25 DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!!!

Maybe it's the kid in me but I totally love summer break, which is weird because I'm totally a lover of routine but I'm a bigger lover of more time with my kids!

We have recently had a large donation from the great people at the Elk's Lodge and that has supplied us with most everything we have needed the last couple of months.  This week was going to be the first week with several items to list but then this crazy thing happened… a faithful donor and volunteer asked what we will need next week.  That isn't so crazy.  She does that a lot and will let me know what item she plans to purchase and then I don't include that item on the online listing.  Here's the crazy thing:  this week she didn't buy just one thing on the list, she bought everything on our list!  Did you get that?  SHE BOUGHT EVERYTHING ON THE LIST!

The faith and faithfulness of some of the members of this community blows me away and challenges me to be more bold in my own faith.  It's really amazing to see some community members sacrificing so that no kid is hungry!

So, since there are no food needs this week, I would like to ask for something else.  Prayer.  Will you pray with me?  Here are the things I'm asking you to pray about:

• Please pray that God will heap blessings on those who sacrifice to give and serve through Bear Necessities.
• Please pray that the families who receive food will know that it is the Lord Jesus who supplies it for them.
• Please pray that those who have been wanting to give but are afraid or busy will not delay anymore.
• Please pray for the team of middle school girls who work every single week to set up will grow to love Jesus, know their identity in Him and be a light to all around them. 
• Please pray that God will be glorified through our program and the other Bear Necessities programs that have recently started at other schools.

I snuck that last thing in, didn't I?  If you're on Facebook you might have seen a post about this but maybe not.  A year and a half ago I met with two teachers from a different school and a mom.  The teachers were finished having hungry kids in their classrooms and ready to be a liaison between God, the community and the school.  The mom sends her kids to a private school but wanted to teach those private school kids about the needs in their own community.  I gave them everything I had.  None of it was ever mine.  From day one this has been God's idea and so I simply shared what had been given to me.  Recently they began Bear Necessities programs and I nearly jumped up off the couch when I saw that they'd not only started but were being so well received!  From the beginning God impressed upon me that He did, in fact, provide enough food for us all, that He desired to feed ALL the children and that if one would simply be a liaison in a community, NO CHILD SHOULD BE HUNGRY! Praise God for his continued provision for his children!

Last week before SPRING BREAK!!!

It might not seem like it with all that white stuff outside but this is the last week prior to spring break and so we have a larger amount of needs this week.  Please share this post wherever you can and help if you can.

32 peanut butter
1 ritz cracker sleeve
38 easy mac envelopes
12 green beans


There are also quite a few volunteer opportunities available:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4aaeaa22a64-volunteer

100th day donations and weekly needs

A HUGE thank you to all the teachers at John Weldon who celebrated the 100th day of school by having kids bring in canned goods for Bear Necessities!!!  It's always so fun to see how proud the kids are of their accomplishment.

All of those cans are now on the shelf and we were able to determine what we need for this week:

23 tuna
20 easy mac envelopes
10 cans corn

Remember, even if you can only get a few cans of something, every little bit helps!  God uses us all together to get His work done in this community!

Inspiration and this week's needs

With the craziness of having a new baby around here I just got downstairs to see what was in a bag of food that was dropped of a few days ago.  The note included absolutely MADE MY DAY:

When God put the idea of Bear Necessities on my heart years ago, it was within the context of parents discipling their children to serve the Lord.  To learn of a family studying the book of James together and living it out is a reminder of God's heart for the family and renews my strength to direct my own crew to a life of service to Christ.  Thank you so much to this family for the inspiration they are!

James 1:22- Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.


Just a quick note of what's needed for this week:

17 cans chili
20 beefaroni
20 easy mac envelopes
12 peas
21 applesauce
32 individual size bags of cheez its