There are so many ways to give back in the community. Whether you are helping at a food pantry, holding the door for someone, washing cars for a fundraiser, or volunteering your time at the local YMCA, giving back is greatly appreciated. In 2018, I came up with an idea to help families who need school supplies. I do not know where it came from, but let us say God Speaks, and He put it on my heart. I was not sure what all they would need, but I knew kids need a backpack. Since school started around August every year, I quickly began keeping an eye out for backpacks every time we were out shopping. Over a couple months we collected 10 backpacks. As for supplies, I combined MJ and Khaleb’s school supply list. Our boys are 10 years apart, so I figured this could cover everything. On social media, I ask for people to provide me with names of children between the ages of 5-18 who need a backpack and school supplies. It started out awfully slow and we only received five names. In July 2019 I made another post and received the remaining five names from people who knew of others who needed assistance. At the end of July, we mailed out the 10 packages and received great feedback. Surprisingly half of them were from South Carolina where I was born and raised. This really touched me because I felt like I was giving back to my community even being so far away. For the upcoming 2020-2021 school year, we started in September 2019. Based off last years’ blessings, I wanted to purchase 1-2 backpacks a month. It was easier this way so there would not be a hefty bill trying to purchase them all
at once. Last week, we sent out 17 backpacks full of school supplies to five different states. They weighed 1-15 pounds each. Whew! We hope to continue this journey. Even if we only receive one more name than we requested the previous year, that is one happier child ready to take on the new school year.
There are so many ways to give back in the community. Whether you are helping at a food pantry, holding the door for someone, washing cars for a fundraiser, or volunteering your time at the local YMCA, giving back is greatly appreciated. In 2018, I came up with an idea to help families who need school supplies. I do not know where it came from, but let us say God Speaks, and He put it on my heart. I was not sure what all they would need, but I knew kids need a backpack. Since school started around August every year, I quickly began keeping an eye out for backpacks every time we were out shopping. Over a couple months we collected 10 backpacks. As for supplies, I combined MJ and Khaleb’s school supply list. Our boys are 10 years apart, so I figured this could cover everything. On social media, I ask for people to provide me with names of children between the ages of 5-18 who need a backpack and school supplies. It started out awfully slow and we only received five names. In July 2019 I made another post and received the remaining five names from people who knew of others who needed assistance. At the end of July, we mailed out the 10 packages and received great feedback. Surprisingly half of them were from South Carolina where I was born and raised. This really touched me because I felt like I was giving back to my community even being so far away. For the upcoming 2020-2021 school year, we started in September 2019. Based off last years’ blessings, I wanted to purchase 1-2 backpacks a month. It was easier this way so there would not be a hefty bill trying to purchase them all
at once. Last week, we sent out 17 backpacks full of school supplies to five different states. They weighed 1-15 pounds each. Whew! We hope to continue this journey. Even if we only receive one more name than we requested the previous year, that is one happier child ready to take on the new school year.
