Busy hands ...Helping hands

This morning I went to the middle school to help with the knit and crochet club. We have about 5 girls that came every time we meet and then we always have one or two others. It is fun to see them learning a new skill. Last year I also helped with the club, we ( the adults involved) wanted the girls to have some kind of goal. Last year we ended up making loomed hats the last half of the year for charity. This year the girls wanted to make a felted bag so most of them are working on that project we have one girl who is making a crocheted baby blanket and then we have the ones who come in each week knit a few rows and aren't really sure what they want to make. It seems they all have fun and are learning which is the main goal

After I was finished with the club meeting I went to a county Food Pantry to bag groceries.On Wednesdays they give out food and try to have everything pre bagged to make it go faster. I was there for about 2 1/2 hours and it really made me realize how blessed I am to have all I have. They have a pre set list of things that go in each bag. One of the things on the list was a cake mix, Jello or Pudding. We give food but I don't know that I ever thought to give things like cake mixes. I said something to the lady in charge and she said it was really nice at holiday time for them to have cake mixes. I know what I am going to be sure and donate in the future. It also got me to thinking how thankful that Drew has a good job, we are healthy, and the kids have a good schools to go to. We are able to help those in need and I hope that we are teaching Chase and Justin how important it is to serve others. I would really like to find some place for us to be able to volunteer as a family but I think the kids are still to young for most places. Chase will have opportunities at church and Boy Scouts to help with service projects that the youth are involved in. Before I know it Justin will be in Young Men's and will be serving too!

We have a service group at church that I help out with. We have made hats to donate to a cancer center in honor of one of the women in our congregation. We have made freezer meals several times to have for a quick meal when a family needs it. We have also made quilts to donate. We have only been doing this for a few months but it is fun to get together with the other women and serve those around us.

What kinds of things do you or your families do to serve those in your community? I am always looking for ideas to pass along to our service group or for my family to to use. I would love to hear from you.