KWAVs shows you how you can make blessing bags for the homeless and needy. This would be a fantastic way to use some of your free samples and coupon freebies to bless others.
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I raided my stockpile last year so my daughter’s girl scout troop could make “hygiene kits” similar to this. I’m saving up supplies so we can do it again next year!
PERFECT! WE ARE DROWNING IN TOOTHPASTE (OVERZEALOUS COUPON SHOPPING) and I so want to help- I love the idea of chapstick too. Granola bars a like gold around here, so the food part might be trickier for me, maybe I can hook up with another mama or two locally and combine our stashes to make some more complete baggies!
And I cried while reading the post, but it was a good kind of cry and I’m grateful!
I think this is great. You could even keep a few in your car for when you see a homeless person alone the side of the road! I don’t like giving money out because most are likely to not use it for food, but this is great! I am so going to do this, I am sure that I have enough stuff in my stockpile to do this right now 🙂 Thank you for the idea!
I would also include a prayer note and list of agencies in the area where they could go for a hot meal, shower, medical needs, etc. Sometimes if you aren’t “in the loop” you aren’t aware of places to go to get some help.
It’s true – it’s so hard to tell who really needs help. But I’d much rather help someone who needs it, than wish all day that I had. What a great idea! I just shared it on facebook. Maybe some of my couponing friends will help me. I’m going to ask my husband to keep one in his truck. At night, he sometimes sees people sleeping in doorways. It might be nice for them to wake up to a little package. :o) Who doesn’t need to know that someone cares about them?
Thanks for the great idea! I don’t have a lot of cash to spare, and this seems more useful than a dollar or some quarters, for sure.
I love this idea. It is definitely perfect for the holiday season when teaching children the true meaning of Christmas. My 8-year old son’s Christmas wish last year was that there would be no more homeless people. Broke and melted my heart.
I hate to be Debbie Downer, but in our town (pop. 65,000) there is a network of “homeless people” that drive into our town as a group and have drop-off points where they stand for the day. Last week I was waiting in a parking lot across from where a 20ish female and a dog were pan-handling and watched her go into a restaurant. Then a man came from across the street and picked up her stuff and the dog and walked back to his car. Then he drove over to the restaurant and picked her up. It’s a scam in our town. I personally would give to a homeless shelter before I’d give to someone on the street. JM2C
I agree. I give to our local rescue mission/ shelter and domestic violence shelter. I knew a young lady who made 600 dollars in one day panhandling with a sign that said she needed money for gas. I have a friend who gave a new-in-wrapper deli sandwich to a man asking for money downtown and he threw it right in the trash because he just wanted money.
This is wonderful! I live in St. Louis, and whenever I go to a Cardinals game or Blues game I like to have something, anything in my purse to give to someone. One time my brother and I stopped at Target to grab uncrustables and water bottles for our lunch and we had enough to share with the homeless man we passed on the way to the game. Since then, I like to keep granola bars, crackers, and (during the summer) water bottles in my purse to give out.
I think I’ll start signing up for more freebies just so I can do this.
Thanks for the idea!
Especially since most of the travel sizes free! And normally have a couple cents overages.
How beautiful! I got a little tear in my eye. It’s so nice to think of others. Thanks for sharing!
Our VBS kids made more than 200 of these this year, and the teens distributed them. Each age group of kids brought one “type” of item (like Items of Protection: Sunscreen, chapstick, etc/ Items of Provision: Individual food items, etc). I was stoked that I could bring some of my stockpile, and that my kids could SEE some more of the results of my couponing. My son always wants to go to CVS with me because it usually means candy (free or nearly so, of course) for him. But this way they could see that it’s more than just about us.
These type of goodies are useful with things for Crisis Pregnancy Centers too! 🙂
I’ve been doing this for years for homeless through our Project Heartbeat program and we also do this for mothers but with baskets for our Bundle of Blessings program. Thank you for thinking of others less fortunate. May God bless you for blessing others.
This is a blessing to people in need! We do something similar and include a scripture verse in the bag to remind them that God loves them!
I think this is a wonderful idea. I think I would donate the supplies to a food bank or a shelter and let them distribute. Sometimes I find myself trying to decide what is best for the homeless I see, rather than seeing past their obvious hygiene needs, to their actual physical and emotional needs. But, if I do give something on the spot, it is a gift, and just like family, I can’t expect or be upset with what they choose to do with the gift.
I agree Kathy, it is a wonderful idea and will hopefully be a blessing to so many people! I related to your comment about trying to decide what is best for the homeless. I sometimes find myself making judgments about the situation of a homeless person and what would be best for them (ie cash, food, shower, etc.), but as you said, I try to remember that if I give something it is truly that, a gift. It is hard, for me, to not make general assumptions about their situation and the possible causes and remember that it is not up to me to know these things and decide what they do with my gift regardless of if it is food, personal hygiene items, or money.
This is also a good way to bless missionaries that might visit your church or be in your area.
I love this idea, especially because the kids can help purchase, sort and pack supplies.
I take all of my extra things to the Veteran’s home. These men and women are often on extremely low fixed incomes and they often have a hard time buying somthing as simple a bar of soap. Every time we go, the residents are so happy and my son loves visiting with the men who fought so bravely in WWII.
I frequently round up extras from our house to donate to our local shelter, but I love the idea of pre-packing bags!
For personal safety reasons I would shy away from this. However, make up the bags and deliver them directly to the shelter would be safer.
I love this idea! Could you give us a run down of what you put in yours.
Thank you
What a fantastic idea! I usually donate items like this to the homeless shelter, but with an estimated 2000 homeless in a town that has a 15 bed shelter… I would imagine that many are still not getting even the most basic supplies. Giving people something they can actually use makes me much more comfortable than handing over cash-since you never know what it’s used for.
If anyone finds that they have extra of these items – but needs a place to donate them – we help run a small food pantry and sharehouse in a rural town. I am looking for people in our area to do just this very thing! We live in Colorado.
Thank you!
I currently collect supplies to give to a local shelter that also delivers supplies to the homeless on the streets. Unfortunately, in my area, there isn’t enough shelter space for everyone who needs it.
It is a good idea to keep these kits on hand for when you see someone in need, like the author suggests. I might build a few to keep in my car.
This is an awesome idea! However, from personal experience I would say its never a good idea to combine personal hygiene (fragrant soaps, liquid that can leak) in the same bag as food items. Just a thought…
Awesome!
A great idea! But it would probably be a good idea to package the food and health items separately. No one likes deodorant “flavored” PB crackers…
Very good point!
Yes, that’s what I hought the moment I saw this. We also do this as a church and make bags for the homeless. But the soap and other toiletries will flavor the food much faster than you would expect! Especially sealed in a plastic bag. Better 1 bag for the food and another for the HBA. Thanks for sharing the link. This is such a good idea. We try to keep one or to in our car to give to people panhandling on the street corners. We have a policy never to give cash, but we are glad to buy food and give out needed items.
That is one awesome idea. Love it!
I LOVE THIS IDEA! I remember as a child being on vacation in San Antonio,TX. We were walking around shopping and doing vacation kind of things. I was holding my Dads hand and as we walked by this homeless man sitting on a crate, who was not asking for anything, Dad handed him a $20 bill very discretely. I was the only one who saw it. The man had some kind of mental disability and a huge smile came over his face. He just kept saying Thank you sir, thank you over and over again. I was shocked and kept asking my father why he did that. He explained to me that this man was down on his luck and not as blessed as we were. This moment has stuck with me and I have told the story to my kids. I will be making blessing bags soon with my children and pass on the memories. The truth is that it is a blessing to the person giving the bag.
That just brought tears to my eyes… This idea is GREAT! I’m always so happy to see people giving and sharing their blessings with others instead of having massive stockpiles of items that end up expiring before they use the products. Thank you for your story 🙂
Love this idea. We’ve actually had a homeless man stand at a corner we drive past pretty frequently, and I was just talking with my kids about what we could do to help him. Gotta go check out the pantry!
We actually just did the exact same thing, but for the troops overseas that don’t have access to an Exchange or Commissary.
This is a fantastic idea! My mother carries around McDonald’s gift cards to give out to homeless people she sees, but was just telling me that she would like to do something that was healthier and would last them longer. We could probably make up one of these bags for less than the cost of the gift cards!