Blessing Bags have been one of the best ways we have found to engage our children in the act of giving. They plan, purchase, and pack the items with us and when the opportunity presents they often bear witness to us passing them out.
Blessing Bags:
- are a consistent part of how our family chooses to give and they have helped teach our children (and us) to have wider eyes and softer hearts.
- enable us to be prepared to give and not caught off guard when we come across someone in need.
- give us cause to make eye contact and exchange words with the recipients.
This is a little thing we are doing and a little sacrifice, but it’s one way we’re committed to starting something much bigger in the hearts of our children.
Interested in putting together your own Blessing Bags with your family? Click below for our printable of suggestions to choose from.
CMB Mom Tip #1 – Consider the seasons when choosing your items. Hand warmers don’t make sense in summer for example and warmer temps may lead to certain items spoiling.
CMB Mom Tip #2 – Include plastics spoons for things like soup and applesauce if you include them in your bags!
Additional Resources
The links below can be used to compile a regional resource sheet to include in your blessing bags based on the areas you are most likely to distribute.
Downtown Cincinnati Pocket Guide: Services and Programs to Help Those in Need
United Way: Cincinnati & NKY Soup Kitchens
Homeless Shelters & Supportive Housing in NKY
Homeless Shelters & Services for the Needy in the Greater Cincinnati Area
Our girl scout troop is doing these! Once completed, where and when do you hand them out? Or do you just donate to an organization that does it for you? Thanks for the check list. It’s so helpful!
That’s awesome, Ginger!
We actually make a big batch (10-20 at once) and split them between my husband’s car and mine. I always keep one under the passenger seat where I can grab it easily to hand out the window if we pass someone while driving, but we’ve also planned excursions with the goal of giving out all our blessing bags.
When we have tried to be purposeful and give out a bunch in one day we found folks who could use them near highway exits (Tylersville, Cincinnati-Dayton, Mitchell Ave., 5th Street, under the bridge near the stadiums, etc.) also around Washington Park, OTR, around Fountain Square and Liberty near the old drop-in center or along River Road. Downtown Hamilton is another spot we’ve found folks in need further north than downtown.
My husband works in OTR a couple times a month and down by UC and he’ll bring them with him then too; it’s really about having them at the ready in case we come across someone in need.
Love that you are doing this with Girl Scouts!