Living Water Church assists Convoy of Hope with outreach
Katie and Emily Gerber put together hygiene kits for Convoy of Hope at Living Water Church.
Living Water Church in Dalton ministers to the community in many ways and recently teamed up with Convoy of Hope to help people not just spiritually, but also physically.
Convoy of Hope is a global outreach organization that provides assistance through disaster services, hunger relief, community events, agriculture sustainability, women’s empowerment and rural initiatives. There are a number of ways individuals or groups of people can get involved. All the different build-a-kit options — hygiene kits, baby care kits, feminine hygiene kits, family hygiene kits — can be created in large quantities or simply one at a time sent through the mail.
People came to Living Water and assembled hygiene kits that included a toothbrush and toothpaste, a washcloth and bar soap, shampoo, a comb, and deodorant, and Jarrett Logistics in Orrville took care of shipping the 50 boxes of goods.
“About 10 months ago, a few of our staff people were exploring opportunities to create hands-on serving opportunities that allowed us to experience a little bit more involvement than simply writing a check and sending it to a worthy organization,” said Jason Boyer, Living Water Dalton campus pastor. “Our church is full of many generous people, but a lot of the avenues that we have set up to bless people don’t include ways to get skin in the game with your own effort.”
The 500 hygiene kits were assembled and sent to the main distribution center in Missouri. From there they will be sent anywhere a disaster need exists, stateside or internationally.
“The thing I enjoyed the most about this was the versatility it allowed for people of all ages to get involved. We had about 50 people come through to help pack items anywhere from age 3-80,” Boyer said. “Part of the experience was making a space for participants to pray for each bag that was assembled and for the people who would receive it. It was a great teaching moment for kids to understand the needs of others.
“Hygiene kits are more than soap and toothpaste. These kits convey a powerful message of care and support. They serve as a reminder to recipients that they are seen and valued. They help to restore dignity and provide a sense of community during difficult times. In essence hygiene kits are a tangible expression of empathy and solidarity, letting people know that they are not alone.”
The project was the second time Living Water has been involved in doing a packaging relief effort, the first coming around nine years ago.
“We raised $23,000 to fund a food-packaging effort through an organization called Feed My Starving Children,” Boyer said. “Our youth group kids partnered with other students from various churches and packaged 100,000 meals that were sent to Africa. We wanted to do something similar to that again but in a way that would not take as much preparation time.”
Besides the Convoy of Hope project, Living Water also hopes to do a diaper or baby bottle drive for the Pregnancy Care Center of Wayne County sometime in August.
The church also has recently built an outreach connection with Safe Harbor Ohio, which has just opened a facility in Holmes County that is one of the largest restoration and rehabilitation centers in the country for women and girls who are rescued from sex slavery.
“There are numerous opportunities for us to serve them with supplies, work days, worship services, planned fun activities, et cetera, (and) I would encourage others to check them out,” Boyer said.
To find out more about Convoy of Hope, visit www.convoyofhope.org and click Get Involved to see the ways projects can be done on your own.
“How cool would it be to go shopping with your kids and package these kits yourself as a summer project?” Boyer said.