For 12 days, I will be writing about the different ways people have participated in the Gifts for Gracias Project over the years. Today is the ninth day. If you are unfamiliar with Gifts for Gracias, or would like to see an overview of how it works, click here for more info.
The Ninth Day of Gifts for Gracias: Help sort, organize, and pack donations
We're closing in on the final posts in this series. So far we have covered the following ways that people help with the Gifts for Gracias Project:
1) Make a shoebox-style gift for a child
2) Make a family gift
3) Donate items in bulk
4) Donate cash
5) Donated used items
6) Encourage others to get involved
7) Make something to donate
8) Honduran pastors and supervisors submit their lists of gift recipients
We have individuals in Maryland and Florida who give of their time, helping to sort, organize and pack the donations which are received in each location. Sometimes items are donated which don't fit the parameters of this project, and we really don't wish to pay to ship things we cannot use here. Our volunteers in the US work to weed out those kinds of donations.
When the container arrives here, we have a very short time for unloading, and of course we don't have lots of extra space or manpower . . . so it has been very helpful that, in recent years, the volunteers in MD have labeled the boxes, using a color code and spray paint. With this method, the men who unload the truck (who, as a rule, aren't able to read English labels) can place the boxes into categorized piles, during the unloading process. This has been hugely helpful to us, as we begin the work of creating the gifts!
In Maryland, most of this sorting and organizing work is happening at Fredericktowne Baptist Church, in Walkersville, where they have also stationed a container on site, to collect donations! We are so blessed to have them involved with us in the Gifts for Gracias project!
When the container arrives here, we have a very short time for unloading, and of course we don't have lots of extra space or manpower . . . so it has been very helpful that, in recent years, the volunteers in MD have labeled the boxes, using a color code and spray paint. With this method, the men who unload the truck (who, as a rule, aren't able to read English labels) can place the boxes into categorized piles, during the unloading process. This has been hugely helpful to us, as we begin the work of creating the gifts!
In Maryland, most of this sorting and organizing work is happening at Fredericktowne Baptist Church, in Walkersville, where they have also stationed a container on site, to collect donations! We are so blessed to have them involved with us in the Gifts for Gracias project!
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| Friends sorting and packing boxes, at Fredericktowne Baptist Church, last year |
Tomorrow I will share MORE ways that people can be involved with the Gifts for Gracias Project!!!! The links above all contain the information regarding shipping, but I will post the information on the looming deadlines:
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