Program UPDATE!!!!

BEDTIME BAGS AND KITS FOR KIDS

The idea of ‘Bedtime Bags’ and ‘Kits for Kids’ came about through a conversation with a concerned gentleman who worked with foster children placements. He expressed his concern for these kids, who many times were placed in a foster home with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing; or the few possessions they did have were packed in a trash bag. He didn’t want these kids to think they were nothing more than ‘trash’. I promised him I would see what I could do to help. That was 2 years ago and since then we have helped 25 children and/or families with 350 pounds of clothing. We also sent 36 blankets to victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

Word-of-mouth and the help of social media helped us with the backpacks, suitcases and duffel bags along with donations of personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body wash and body lotion to add to our bags. We also had donations of puzzles, books, gently used personal throws, blankets, quilts, small stuffed animals and small toys. We add these age appropriate items to the bags or kits.

With the help of Sara Gideon, Dental Hygienist and Dr. Tim Garner of Burwell Dental Clinic in Burwell, NE they graciously assisted us with many dental kits containing toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, dental picks and other dental items neatly bagged and ready to add to our ‘Bedtime Bags’ and ‘Kits for Kids’.

BEDTIME BAGS contain a pair of pajamas; an age-appropriate book, stuffed animal or video; toothbrush; toothpaste; personal care products and a blanket/quilt.

KITS FOR KIDS contain several sets of clothing, shoes, and a jacket or coat. We also include a backpack if needed.

Hughes commented, “It’s wonderful how generous the public is to our cause, they continue to exceed my expectations many times over!”

The Clothing Closet, located at the First Christian Church in Burwell, NE is the link that brings these programs together. The Clothing Closet is a project of Keep Loup Basin Beautiful. Kathy Mann and Amy Hughes, KLBB Project Coordinators for the Clothing Closet, help each time we have a need to assist an individual or a whole family. We are given sizes and needs for each individual person (or persons) and we work to fill the suitcases or duffel bags with needed items to assist them. We also add a backpack for school age students if they are in need of one.

“All of the Project Coordinators at Keep Loup Basin Beautiful are happy to assist anyone in need of help with the ‘Bedtime Bags’ and ‘Kits for Kids’ project. We are ‘recycling and reusing’ the backpacks, suitcases, duffel bags, blankets, quilts and clothing” stated Hughes. Please contact any of our KLBB Project Coordinators: Kathy Mann, Mary Hughes or Amy Hughes if you or someone you know could benefit from this project or any of our other projects and programs. We are happy to help anyone!

Keep Loup Basin Beautiful (KLBB) is grant-funded through the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) and Keep America Beautiful; and is a project of the Loup Basin RC&D Council that promotes litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling, and beautification. KLBB serves thirteen counties in central and north-central Nebraska. For more information about KLBB’s education programs, email KLBB at [email protected], visit www.keeploupbasinbeautiful.org or like them on Facebook. Contact the Loup Basin RC&D office (308)-346-3393 or stop by the office at the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway Interpretive Center, 330 South Highway 11, Burwell, Nebraska.

Our Bedtime Bags and Kits for Kids is a program we provide in con-junction with Building Block for Kids based in O’Neill, NE. We pro-vide a duffle bag and/or backpack for each foster child when needed. We fill the bags with personal care products (like a toothbrush, tooth-paste, floss, shampoo and conditioner, body lotion, hand sanitizer to name a few); several changes of clothes (if needed); blanket and stuffed animal; book or video; (age appropriate). Many times these children have no personal belongings when they are placed in foster homes. We are excited to assist these children and their foster families with these items.

Building Blocks for Kids operates in all of our 13-county region and it is a perfect fit to compliment our many projects to assist our communi-ties with ‘Resource, Conservation and Development’… the concept of our Loup Basin RC&D Council.

Contact Mary Hughes at Keep Loup Basin Beautiful at 308.346.3393 or email Mary at [email protected] if you have any questions or have any new or gently used items for our project.

The following is the flier for the Kits for Kids & Bedtime Bags.

Kits for Kids-Bedtime Bags Flier 021116