Helping-Bag Idea 

Get together with your children and talk to them about what it would be like to be homeless.  Perhaps read them a book , and bring up questions like, “What if you didn’t have a home to come home to?” Tell them most homeless people only have what they can carry with them.  Ask them what things they might want with them if they had no home.

Make a list with your children of the things you would need, explain many homeless people do not have those things.  After you make a list (the list shown here will help) decide what you are going to put in your bag to give to a homeless person and collect them.  You may want to sew a bag or use a large Ziploc bag.

After you compile the bag with your children take them to a local shelter.

 Helping-Bag

• Non-perishable food:
• Tuna-make sure it’s a tab-top or plastic packaged.
• Crackers
• Peanuts
• Fruit snacks
• Granola Bar
• Cheese and crackers
• Pretzels
• Vienna Sausages
• Raisins
• Dried fruit (banana chips)
• Individual fruit cocktail
• Cookies
• Chips or Candy
• Napkin/Spoon
• Bottled Water
• Knitted Item (scarf, hat, socks, washcloth)
• Soap/washcloth
• Shampoo
• Toothpaste/ Toothbrush
• Combs
• Shaving Cream/ Shavers
• Lotion
• Anti-bacterial lotion
• First Aid Basics (band-aids, thermometer, topical anesthetic, pain reliever, adhesive and gauze, etc.), also a pouch to keep it in.
• Chap stick
•  Information on local services, such as soup kitchens, shelters, and job training.