Monday, January 21, 2013

Anatomy of a Blessing Bag

Have you made blessing bags? I've seen them on Pinterest. They are great to keep in the car for people you see asking for help/handouts on the street. Putting them together is easy, and it's a great activity for children. Kids can help you fill each bag, just like Operation Christmas Child Shoe boxes. Keep them in your car, and hand them out when you see someone holding up a sign and asking for some help. (Public Service Announcment- The paranoid mom in me wants to remind you to use common sense and not drive up and down dark alleys at night, rolling down your windows and such. PSA over.)
What can you put in these bags? So many things! (You can see what I had this go around in the pictures.)
I have a list below of some ideas that can be put into gallon sized bags for giving out, if you have other ideas share them in the comments section!
  1. A list of local food banks
  2. A list of local shelters
  3. A list of churches
  4. A list of nearby clinics/hospitals
  5. A note wishing them a blessed day
  6. A bible and/or tract
  7. Some cleaners will clean a persons clothing if they have a job interview, if you see a sign like this up- make note of the location. Add this to your bag if it's in the same area.
  8. Zip top bags- I like to include a couple of extra zip top bags, to store the toothbrush in, to store items that might leak, to store items someone may want to keep dry and so on. Pretty much all the toiletries, since there is food in the bag.
  9. When you stay at a hotel, all those bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotions, and bars of soap? Pick them up! Someone handing out samples? Now you have something to do with them.
  10. Shampoo
  11. DRY/Waterless Shampoo
  12. Conditioner
  13. Sunscreen
  14. Lotion
  15. Bug spray
  16. Bandaids
  17. Socks
  18. Hand Sanitizer
  19. Antibacterial ointment
  20. Wet wipes 
  21. Safety pins
  22. Toothbrush
  23. Toothbrush holder/keeper/container
  24. Tooth paste
  25. Floss
  26. Chapstick, lip balm
  27. Deodorant
  28. Comb or brush
  29. First aid kit
  30. Kleenex
  31. Toilet paper
  32. Hat/Cap
  33. Scarves
  34. Gloves
  35. Wash clothes
  36. Nail clippers
  37. Nail file
  38. Pads/Tampons
  39. Q tips
  40. Floss
  41. Tweezers
  42. Hand warmers- Target has/had them. You break them and they heat up.
  43. Hard candy
  44. Gum
  45. Wrapped, non perishable snacks- beef jerky, crackers with cheese/peanut butter, nuts, granola bars, dried fruit, Tuna, etc.
  46. Plastic spoon for items like applesauce, etc. 
  47. Peanut butter
  48. Throat lozenges
  49. Refillable water bottle
  50. Packets of crystallized iced coffee/tea/Crystal light. (The kind you pour into water bottles)
  51. Pens
  52. Notebook
  53. Poncho
  54. McDonald's gift card (or other place)
  55. Phone card
  56. Glow sticks- the ones you break and they light up.
  57. Envelope/s with first class stamp
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2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for the idea! This is something my boys could help me do. I think I'll bring up the idea at my seven year old's next den meeting for cub scouts. They're always looking for new service projects they can do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pinned this wonderful idea! Found you through your post on Food on Friday and decided to check out your blog. So glad I did!

    ReplyDelete

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