Appalachian Christmas Outreach
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Appalachian Christmas Outreach, often called the Appalachian Backpack Ministry, is an exciting opportunity to participate in a ministry of NC Baptists on Mission.
NC Baptist on Mission has a goal to collect around 24,000 backpacks of items to be distributed to Appalachian children in areas of need in late November and December of this year.
Lighthouse is excited to be part of the statewide collection date on the first Saturday in November. Please look at our events page for the specific date.
For more information about NC Baptist on Mission and this wonderful ministry, please visit https://baptistsonmission.org/Appalachian-Christmas-Outreach.
Christmas in July
But why wait for November? This July, Lighthouse will start our push for the Appalachian Christmas Outreach.
Help us reach our Goal of 50 backpacks!
Jodi will have backpacks, an item list, and Christmas stories for everyone to pick up at the table in our foyer.
But what if you are not a regular attender or member of Lighthouse, and want to get involved? Great! Reach us through our contact page, and we would love to encourage you and help you in any way that we can.
What do you need to know to pack a bag:
We want to encourage you to COLLECT ITEMS AND PREPARE BACKPACKS. Each zippered school backpack should include:
- Items of NEW warm clothing. Please try to provide a winter hat, or a pair of gloves, 2-3 pairs of socks, or maybe a scarf.
- Small pop-top canned food items such as ravioli, tuna, beef stew, vegetables, fruit (3-4 cans - no plastic containers, please)
- At least 1 or 2 NEW, age-appropriate non-breakable toy(s) (no toy weapons, please!) A few examples include small cars, balls, dolls, small stuffed animals, puzzles, jump rope, sidewalk chalk, card games, Legos, etc. For oldest age group (15-17) substitute an appropriate item instead of a toy, such as, a flashlight, wallet, small thermos, light blanket, earbuds, small tool kits, fishing gear, books, hunting or sports magazines for the boys - jewelry, books, earbuds, skin care products, hair accessories, small travel-sized hair dryer, etc. for girls. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE A KNIFE, POCKETKNIFE, or BLADE OF ANY KIND, AS MANY OF THE BACKPACKS ARE DISTRIBUTED IN SCHOOLS.
- Hygiene items including full sized containers of toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, and deoderant, as well as a toothbrush, soap, washcloth, brush, or comb. (Please fit these items into a one-gallon Ziploc bag so they do not leak out into the rest of the backpack).
- Fresh, wrapped candy (no chocolate, please, as it may melt; and no peanut products because of potential allergies)
- A children’s Bible or youth Bible (no one version is required). Please make sure that every backpack has a regular-sized (not Gideon-sized, please) Bible in it! This is the most important item!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please make sure all items fit into the backpack. Nothing should be attached to the outside of the pack except the ribbons identifying age and boy/girl. Items outside of the backpack do not store and travel well. Many are either torn off or become quite dirty in transport. Also, please do not tape the outside of the backpacks, as it leaves a sticky residue.
Age Grouping and Labeling. Each backpack should be labeled boy or girl, as well as the appropriate age. Age groupings for this year are 4-7, 8-10, 11-14, 15-17. Due to labels falling off in previous years, we have now gone to a ribbon system for labeling, and it has proven to be very effective. Each backpack will have two 10 inch ribbons tied to them - one to indicate gender and one for age, as follows:
Gender:
Blue ribbon will indicate a boy’s backpack.
Pink ribbon will indicate a girl’s backpack.
Age:
Yellow ribbon will indicate that the backpack is for ages 4-7
Green ribbon for ages 8-10
Red ribbon for ages 11-14
White ribbon for ages 15-17.
We ask that you prepare your backpack as you would for your own child or grandchild, with new items, not used ones. This quality gift could be the only Christmas present this child receives, and will be a witness of Christ’s love!
