| "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." James 1:27a NIV | Though the holidays are over, children remain in foster care being moved from home to home, carrying their few personal possessions in black garbage bags. Can there be a more bitter affirmation of lives in crisis, tossed to and fro in need of identity and love? Bags of Hope began 3 years ago with a goal of providing monogrammed duffle bags to 100 children in the RI and MA foster care system; they provided 300. In 2014, they provided over 900! And this past year, over 2500 duffle bags were correctly monogrammed and filled with age appropriate, wrapped Christmas gifts (10,000 of them!) for children who may not have otherwise received anything at all! It's a true labor of love! Check out the videos to the left, the Bags of Hope Facebook page and website. Christmas may be over, but hope is never out of season! If you'd like to become a part of the project, click here, and know that you are doing a very good thing! |
From the Bags of Hope website:
"Children are important to Jesus. Throughout the New Testament Jesus showed tenderness, especially to those in need. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island there are more than 11,000 childern in Foster Care**. Every day there are more children at risk of being removed from their homes. These children are in need of families and loving support.
Bags of Hope is an annual orphan care project where we provide duffle bags to children in Foster Care, embroidered with their name and filled with age appropriate comfort items (i.e. Pillow Pets, journals, fleece blankets, etc...) Often times children in foster care store their personal belongings in a trash bag. It is the goal of Bags of Hope to replace these trash bags with Duffle Bags. This past holiday, 2014, we were able to give bags to over 900 children in local Massachusetts and Rhode Island Foster Homes. Every year since we've started we have at least doubled, and almost tripled, our number from the year before.
Bags of Hope has partnered with local churches that have helped to make this possible. Thanks to Clavary Temple A/G, Evangelical Covenant Church, Barrington Baptist, and His Providence Church (which this ministry orginated and still operates out of).
Thanks again for joining us in this project and we look forward to other churches coming along side us and making an impact in our community by loving our little ones in Foster Care and giving them hope."
"Children are important to Jesus. Throughout the New Testament Jesus showed tenderness, especially to those in need. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island there are more than 11,000 childern in Foster Care**. Every day there are more children at risk of being removed from their homes. These children are in need of families and loving support.
Bags of Hope is an annual orphan care project where we provide duffle bags to children in Foster Care, embroidered with their name and filled with age appropriate comfort items (i.e. Pillow Pets, journals, fleece blankets, etc...) Often times children in foster care store their personal belongings in a trash bag. It is the goal of Bags of Hope to replace these trash bags with Duffle Bags. This past holiday, 2014, we were able to give bags to over 900 children in local Massachusetts and Rhode Island Foster Homes. Every year since we've started we have at least doubled, and almost tripled, our number from the year before.
Bags of Hope has partnered with local churches that have helped to make this possible. Thanks to Clavary Temple A/G, Evangelical Covenant Church, Barrington Baptist, and His Providence Church (which this ministry orginated and still operates out of).
Thanks again for joining us in this project and we look forward to other churches coming along side us and making an impact in our community by loving our little ones in Foster Care and giving them hope."
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