Week of Blessings for the Oaks

Serve Oaks Families

July 27 – 31 (and beforehand)
Though we won’t be able to put on an Oaks VBS as planned this year, we have transformed that week into a Week of Blessings for our Oaks friends. There are several ways you can join in and serve Oaks families, including shopping for household items, assembling backpack activity packs, donating new or gently used items to the Blessing Closet and more. Check out the ways to serve below, then choose the one (or two or three!) that’s the best fit for you and let’s spend July serving and caring for friends at the Oaks. More details on each opportunity are below, but don’t hesitate to reach out to Ann Ramseyer at local@eastminster.org with questions or to touch base.

Ways to Serve

Family-to-Family Shopping

Overview: One Eastminster family purchases personal hygiene and cleaning items for one Oaks family. List of items will be provided. (team lead Jennifer Lette)
Dates: by July 20
How you can help: Opportunity for 35 families to shop for and purchase a list of personal health/hygiene and cleaning items for an Oaks family (or you can team up with another family – if so, sign up together). You will purchase items from our list and deliver to Ann at the church. When you get to the church, we will provide a tub to put things in and a note card to write the family a short note. To be completed any time from now until July 20. List of items will be provided and can all be purchased at one store. Cost per family will be under $100. If you would like to help, but are unable to do the shopping for health reasons, let Ann know and we will do the shopping for you.

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Kids Backpacks

Overview: Each Oaks child pre-kindergarten through high school will get a backpack filled with school supplies, a craft, and a “trust God” lesson that we intended to use for VBS. (team lead Brenda Lawton)
Dates: Anytime July 5 – 20
How you can help: All you need to do is shop for school supplies in July. The church will provide the funds – you are just donating your time. You can also help by preparing a craft, or signing up for the work day to put kids packs together.

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Blessings Closet Donations

How you can help: Donate any of the items (new or gently used) below by bringing them to Ann Ramseyer at the church. If you have lawn equipment, please call first because it needs to be stored separately. If you have large items and need help transporting, contact Ann at local@eastminster.org. (team lead Kathy Killingsworth)
Dates: before July 24
How to sign up: No sign up required, but please connect with Ann for drop off coordination
Items needed: All items must be in good working order. No clothes are needed at this time.
• Yard/Garden tools: lawn mower, trimmer, lopper, shovel, rake, hoe, garden hose, spray nozzle
• Small household tools: hammer, pliers, screwdrivers, wrench, tape measure, flashlight, utility knife
• Small kitchen appliances: toaster, coffee pot, crock pot, Instant Pot, griddle, roaster, rice cooker, toaster oven
• Kitchen items: towels, Corning dishes, pots & pans, glasses, measuring cups/spoons, can opener, bowls
• Laundry: baskets, detergent, plastic storage containers w/lids
• Bedroom/Bath: sheets, towels, underbed storage containers, 3-drawer plastic clothes caddies, toilet paper, lamps
• Family: laptop, tablet, chromebook, games, books, coloring books, sewing machine, fabric, tricycle, helmet, bicycle
• Daycare Center: items for toddlers through age 5

Work Days

All week long we’ll bless Oaks families, and it’s all hands on deck as we prepare to serve them. You can serve one day or multiple days! (team lead Ann Ramseyer)
• Monday, July 27 and Tuesday, July 28 – assemble kids packs, household boxes and graduate gifts
• Friday, July 31 – help transport items to Oaks Church
• Friday, July 31 – sort items at the Oaks
• Saturday, August 1 – a small number of people can help distribute items to Oaks families