Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for all of the donations that came in last week.  We are in a great position to be able to take care of all of the kids through Christmas break and into January.  The support of this program continues to  amaze us.  As you all know, this program doesn't have a budget.  There is no guarantee or line-item expense that ensures it will continue.  This program thrives off of the generosity of each person who chooses to give week after week, month after month.  We've said it before, but it is worth repeating, that we live in an amazing and very blessed community.  Since we started Helping Hands a little over a year ago, we have always had exactly what we needed to provide for the children each weekend. As the number of children in the program grows, so does your support, and it's a beautiful thing! As  you enjoy Christmas with  your families and friends, please continue to pray for the families we serve and that God will continue to provide for them through our community.  Thank you and God bless you all!

This weekend and Christmas Break

Hello and happy Monday!  We wanted to send out a quick update for Helping Hands.  In just a couple of weeks, our kiddos are going to be out of school for Christmas break.  In addition to needing items for this weekend, we would like to be able to collect enough food to send home some extras next week for their extended break.  We need quite a few items in order to make that happen-our shelves are pretty bare!  Following is a list of things we are either low on or completely out of:

Ravioli
Beefaroni
Soup (packets or cans) 
Individual mac n cheese packets
Canned chicken/tuna
Spaghetti O's
Chili
Snacks (peanuts, popcorn, applesauce, cheese crackers are all good items to send home)
Oatmeal
Cereal/granola bars
Full size cereal (we need 32 boxes by next week for Christmas break)

If you would like to donate, please bring your items to Crystal City Elementary School any time during normal school hours.  Any items you contribute will go directly to children at Crystal City Elementary School.

We are so grateful that you have all embraced this program, and we really appreciate your continued generosity.  As you prepare for the upcoming Holidays, please continue to keep Helping Hands and the families we serve in your prayers.  Thank you and God bless you for all you do!

Needs through December

Hello everyone!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
As promised, we're giving a quick update on needs for Helping Hands:
Immediate needs:
Peanut Butter-We need about 25 more jars to send home next week(we send one home each month)
Jelly-30 plastic squeezable for next week (we send one home each month)
25 sleeves of Ritz crackers for next week(we send one home each month)
Meals-Individual mac and cheese, tuna, beefaroni, ravioli, 
Oatmeal
Pop Tarts
Individual cereal boxes


For December (through Christmas break):
Meals-mac and cheese (individual servings), beefaroni, spaghetti -os, soup (cans or packets), canned chicken or tuna.  Any meals that are lightweight and can be easily prepared without additional ingredients are good!
Cereal-we need 28 full size boxes of cereal before Christmas break.
Lightweight snacks, such as microwave popcorn, peanuts, pretzels for Christmas break. 

Thanks so much for all you continue to do for Crystal City's kids!

Thanksgiving blessings

Hello and happy Friday!  We have received a few calls inquiring about the needs status for Thanksgiving weekend, so we thought we would provide a quick update. We had enough for the bags this weekend, and there is still enough left over to provide for next week's extended break.  In addition to the food they will receive from Helping Hands, you can rest assured that each family in the program will have what they need to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal with their loved ones at home.  We continue to be amazed and blessed with the generosity that the people of this community have. The compassion and willingness to give what they have to those in need is such a blessing, and truly something to be thankful for this Holiday season.

After the Thanksgiving break, we will post a list of the items we need to get us through Christmas break. All of your help is so greatly appreciated-thank you for helping us provide for these families each week!   God bless you!

Week of November 5

Hi!  Thanks for checking in!  A few weeks ago, we posted a request for A LOT of stuff.  Our shelves were nearly bare.  You were all so supportive, generous, and kind with your donations, and we have been able to take what we received and stretch it over several weeks!  We have enough for this weekend!  We are currently up to 31 kids in the program, and your generosity has ensured that we will be able to take care of these kids each weekend.  If Helping Hands has become a part of your weekly shopping routine, and you would like to drop donations off at the school, please feel free to do so!  We will continue to store them for future weeks.

Thanks and have a blessed week!

Thank you!

Promising to feed 29 kids every weekend can make us a little  nervous.  Throw an extra day in there, and that's an additional 87 meals to come up with.  Two extra days in one month?  Seems a bit overwhelming!  But we had yet another reminder this week of why, when we put our faith in God and in this community, we have no reason to worry.  Everyone responded so generously to the needs we posted, and we have enough for the next two extended weekends! It's been awesome to see how our prayers have been answered over the last two days. The food deliveries, financial support, and phone calls pledging more support were so amazing and yet another reminder of how blessed we are to be a part of this community. Thanks so much! God bless you!

Week of Oct 15-LOTS of need!!

Hello and thank you all for checking in!

As you all know, Helping Hands has been providing food for Crystal City children for about a year.  Our goal is to ensure that these kids have enough to eat over the weekend while they are away from school.  So far, we have been BLESSED by this community with an abundance of donations!  Every time we ask, you provide.  We operate with no budget, only with faith that the people of our community will help, and you always do! 

We are really low on donations for the upcoming week.  We have a lot of snacks, but hardly anything that could be considered a meal.  Following are the items we need for this week:

Beefaroni
Spaghetti O's
Soup
Stew
Mac and Cheese
Chili
Tuna or Canned Chicken
15 full size boxes of cereal

Since it's a 3 day weekend, we would like to send them home with enough to last all 3 days.  While you are grocery shopping this weekend, please pick up a couple of extra items for Helping Hands!  Donations can be dropped off at Crystal City Elementary by Wednesday at 3pm.  Monetary donations can also be dropped off at the school.

Thanks so much for everything, and we will update you on the status of donations as the week goes on!  Have a great weekend!