Gift of the Heart Kits – stories and ideas
Congregations, students, and others have come together in creative ways to collect, assemble, and share in this ecumenical ministry that offers tangible help to disaster survivors and others in need. Read about their ideas, and tell PDA how your group has been involved with the Gift of the Hearts Kits (GOH) ministry. Or perhaps some of the ideas shared will spark an interest in a creative way for your congregation to get involved!
We encourage those who have participated in this ministry to pray for those who will receive your gifts – that the hope of Christ will be evident to them, and that along with material support, they will receive a reminder of the love of God.
Gratitude from Slidell, Louisiana
Timothy Ruppel lives in Slidell, where Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, and where tens of thousands of volunteers have participated in the clean up and rebuilding.
Timothy shares, “ …I put together 6 Hygiene "Gifts of the Heart" Kits, and mailed them yesterday … I bought these kits largely in gratitude to the continuing efforts PDA and others have done in and around New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. Your faithful response here in Christ has changed me, and I thank you.”
For several years following Hurricane Katrina, Tim’s church marked the anniversary with an offering taken to support the work of PDA. Once the church completed this, Tim still wanted a way to continue the tradition. Not wanting to send a check, he found information on the web site about a way to help through the Gift of the Heart Kits ministry. Thank you, Tim.
Inside Out
Trinity Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho, heard about GOH from a sister church in Boise. Barbara Campbell shares their story:
“Our Mission Committee started these projects in the Spring of 2010 as a “hands on” local project for our Church members during our “Inside Out” weekends in May and August 2010. These are weekends in which our Church members focus on “being the Church rather than going to Church”. Members had the option of working on several local projects to help the community. We had assembling these “gift of the heart kits” on site at Trinity for members who wanted to be at Church on the Sunday morning of the project. (There were no services on these Sundays – members were encouraged to go “out and serve” instead.)
"Assembling the final kit was just one aspect of the project. We had to start about six weeks before the assembly date publicizing our efforts and indicating items we needed. Our wonderful Church secretary helped with this part of the project. Each Sunday in our bulletin, we indicated what we needed and progress towards our goal. I had to do some motivational speaking from the pulpit once or twice to explain the importance of these projects. People responded very well and contributed their cash, or specific items needed, and their time. We were very pleased with the outcome because we had an overwhelming response to all the kits.
Since May, 2010, we completed the following projects:
- Hygiene Kits – May 2010 (approx. 75-100)
- Blankets for Babies: Aug. 2010 – (approx. 50 – 75)
- School Kits - May 2011 (approx. 85)
We had such a response to the school kits that we are sending another shipment (about 25 more) this week. These are kits that our children from our VBS put together as a Mission Project …”
Many groups at Trinity participated in this mission, including the colorful bags for school kits sewn by some talented seamstresses in the congregation. Thank you to Trinity Presbyterian Church for continuing in this ministry.
Vacation Bible School
Fredericksburg Presbyterian Church in Ohio held VBS in June 2011. Erika shares with us,
“… For the nightly VBS offering, we wanted to find a project that would be kids helping kids. Our Outreach Team had promoted the Gift of the Heart Clean Up Buckets to our congregation after all the devastating tornadoes in the south and Missouri. But, that wasn't necessarily kids helping kids, so our VBS team decided we would make the Gift of the Heart School Kits for children …
“Our goal was to raise enough money to make 10 kits (we estimated the cost at $150). After the first three nights of VBS, the kids had raised $150 exactly. So, we made them a challenge for the fourth night to raise an additional $50. The kids really got into it and Thursday evening we had kids walking in with sandwich baggies of coins and saying phrases like "I emptied my piggy bank." It was really amazing to see these young children (age 4 - 6th grade) get behind this project. On the last night, the kids raised an additional $185 dollars. VBS Volunteers were amazed.
“We had some ladies in the congregation come forward to make the cloth bags at no cost. So, we were able to buy enough supplies to make 33 kits … Our Cool Christian Kids for Christ (CKFC) Youth Group (grade 4th - 6th) then assembled the bags to be shipped. They really enjoyed assembling the kits and knowing they were helping other children. It was a great service project for them to do.”
Thank you to the children, youth and adults at Fredericksburg Presbyterian Church who worked together to share the love of Christ through this ministry.
Gifts and Prayers
Seven year old Lauren saw on television the news footage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. She told her mother Patti, a deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Mount Holly, North Carolina, she wanted to “send a gift basket or something to the people in Japan.”
Patti shares, “… Her kind and generous heart impressed me so much that I thought of little else the rest of the morning. Taking this as a sign from God, I decided to search for a way to help and came to the PC(USA) website where I read about PDA and the Gift of the Heart Kits. I ran the idea by Lauren and she thought it was a good idea and wanted to have the kids at church help. So, after a few calls to our youth director and our pastor, the wheels were set in motion to get the Hygiene Kits put together….” The congregation’s First Kids and Youth gathered to assemble the kits.
Our thanks to Lauren and the members of First Presbyterian Church for your gifts to support those in need, and for remembering that prayer is our best response. “Our prayers are with the people of Japan, and all of the men and women, in the PDA and other organizations, who are helping these victims.” (Patti)
Elementary Children’s Retreat
March 2011
“The Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley had an elementary children's retreat this past weekend. 45 children and adults gathered at Poplar Point Camp to celebrate the World Day of Prayer. The children learned about participating in God's work in the world through prayer and action. Part of the celebration included packing 50 hygiene kits for PDA. The kits will be shipping to the Ferncliff Center.
“I thought you'd like to hear this story of how some of God's younger children are making a difference... Making the kits really gives the children a sense of empowerment and confidence in their God-given abilities to share in God's work.”
Thanks to Rev. Lisa Stenner, First Presbyterian Church of Auburn, Alabama, for sharing about this mission.
Clean up after Dinner
“On August 12, 2010, members and friends of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Kilmarnock, Virginia, assembled 50 Clean-Up Buckets for Church World Service. Those who did the work ranged in age from six to mid-eighties.
Prior to assembling the buckets, participants shared a dinner that the children and youth of the church had prepared. The "price of admission" for dinner was a contribution toward the cost of the items for the buckets. The church then enlisted the help of some teenagers from the church to deliver the buckets to CWS' facility in New Windsor, Maryland.”
Thank you, Judy Thomson, for sharing your photo and story about dinner with a purpose.