Florida Baptist Children’s Homes to
Launch Backpack Campaign for Orphans
June 1, 2009
LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Baptist Children’s Homes plans to launch a campaign to collect backpacks and other school supplies for disadvantaged and orphaned children in Florida and in targeted locations in the developing world. The campaign is called Mission Backpack and is a partnership between the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes, Orphan Outreach, and Moody Radio stations. The Mission Backpack drive in Florida will take place from July 20 to August 8.
According to Dr. Jerry Haag, president of the Children’s Homes their goal is to collect 5,000 backpacks and various quantities of school supplies from across the state. “We need every size and type of backpack including messenger style bags and tote bags. We will also be collecting school supplies as well,” Haag said.
“The more organizations that participate in helping to promote and collect backpacks the more we will be able to provide to abused, neglected, and orphaned children. We need churches and organizations to help promote the campaign to their members and we also need more churches to serve as collection sites.”
“Every year we collect backpacks and school supplies for our kids in residential and foster care. We are very grateful for the many people who have been so faithful in helping us out with backpacks and school supplies every year. This year we want to greatly expand the effort in order to serve many more children and families,” Haag said.
There will be a number of backpack collection sites located across the state, including some churches as well as all of the Children’s Homes’ campus locations. The Children’s Homes website (www.FBCHomes.org) provides a list of collection sites.
The Florida Baptist Children’s Homes will be conducting the backpack campaign in partnership with Orphan Outreach, a Texas based organization that also conducts mission activities to orphans in the developing world. Orphan Outreach has conducted the Mission Backpack campaign in other parts of the country.
“It’s a blessing to equip and encourage others to reach people for Christ. No one church or ministry can fulfill the biblical mandate to care for the orphan. It must be the commitment of all Christians to live out the Lord’s love and concern for ‘the least of these’,” said Mike Douris, president of Orphan Outreach.
“Our two organizations compliment each other’s skills and competencies which together should make our efforts even more efficient and effective at reaching disadvantaged children with humanitarian aid such as backpacks, school supplies, as well as joint mission trips and other projects to care for orphans. All of this is done to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ for these special children,” Haag said.They will also be partnering with Moody Radio, which will help promote the campaign on their Florida stations. Moody Radio is a Chicago based radio network that delivers Christian programming to affiliate stations across the U.S.
Ron Gunter, vice president of international childcare for the Children’s Homes said that the backpacks will be distributed to children in their foster care and residential care programs as well as to disadvantaged children in targeted locations in the developing world including Guatemala, Honduras, Russia, and Romania.
“We will be delivering backpacks and school supplies on some of our international childcare mission trips. We invite people to come with us on a mission trip to help deliver backpacks and see how great the need is for orphaned children in the developing world,” Gunter said.
“One of the greatest things we can provide a disadvantaged child is ‘a hope and a future.’ Something as simple as a backpack and school supplies shows a child that they matter and that people care about them. In addition, a backpack can create excitement for school in the hearts of children that before may have felt only hopelessness due to their situation,” Gunter said.
Contact the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes at 863-687-8811 or go to their website at www.FBCHomes.org to learn how you can help with the Mission Backpack campaign.
|
