The act is called Joy Jugs and this is how Trudi and her family did it. She wrote about it so perfectly I decided it would be best to share her words...
Joy Jugs
This past week during Grandma Camp, one of the projects the kids worked on was making Joy Jugs. This was a spin on the Blessings Bags that our Kids Ministry at church assembles a couple times of years. In a nutshell, you fill a bag (or a jug) with toiletries, food items, water, etc., that can be given out to homeless folks. Here in Valley, we have a huge homeless population and it’s very common for us to see homeless folks as we are out and about, on our way to school, etc. We want our kids to understand that people who are homeless are humans who deserve our respect…not people to look down on due to their circumstances. During the distribution of Blessing Bags in the past, we have had some really good-for-our-kids-to-hear conversations with people who have ended up on the streets. I believe these conversations have helped Bela and Manuel to develop compassion as well as a sense of activism, two characteristics I hope continue to develop as they grow.
This morning was the morning to distribute the 20 Joy Jugs that the kids and Mom assembled. We loaded up the car and drove to a couple of parks where we knew we would find people who could use a little extra help. I road along, but stayed in the car during the deliveries as it’s just too hot outside for my poor body. The kids happily reported that when they saw a person with a dog, they gave him extra water so the dog wouldn’t be thirsty too.
I have a feeling that Joy Jugs will be a semi-regular project at our house. The need, unfortunately, is so big and we have the ability to help in this way. In a world full of hate and “othering”, we want to be a family that does what we can to show people that they matter…not matter who they are. We want our kids to know that they aren’t too young to make a difference in someone’s life and in this world…experiences like giving out Joy Jugs is one way for us to help put our values into action.
Until next time,
~Trudi
~Trudi
Because we love the Joy Jugs and the food bags idea so much, we are building this into our Noah's Kindness Project schedule for the day. We will be assembling these and sharing them with those who in need, in the hopes of being able to spread more kindness with those less fortunate.
Please let us know if you'd like to join us in helping to assemble them and if you'd like to help donate some supplies for the packages, here is a list of items we plan to include:
- wash cloth
- bar of soap
- toothpaste
- toothbrush
- travel size Kleenex
- Chapstick
- hand sanitizer wipes
- pack of gum
- goldfish crackers (or any other individually wrapped cracker)
- granola bars (preferably non-chocolate kind)
- bottle of water
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Bella and Manuel's finished products! So awesome of them to share these gifts with others!
PS... Isn't Bella's shirt super cute. ;-)
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Thank you to Trudi, Jim, Bella, Manual, Leisa and Campbell for the ideas to build this into NKP this year. We are excited to hopefully be able to share joy in these gifts.
Thank you!
Angie
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