By Sherry Koehler, Hope Lutheran Church, Tatamy, Pa.

The Women of the ELCA chapter at Hope Lutheran Church in Tatamy, Pa., decided to participate in the “school kits” project for the Lutheran World Relief organization (LWR).

The ingathering of school supplies needed for the kits expanded to include the local chapter of Church Women United, members of various denominations.

The response was overwhelming. It was one thing to collect the items to put into the bags; it was another to make all the 12" x14" cloth bags into which the items were to be packed.

Initially, we approached the task of making the bags by having six young girls in our congregation use the three sewing machines at the church (normally used by the quilters group). None of them had any experience using a sewing machine but were eager to learn.

Because of the number of bags needed, other adult members of the congregation began making bags at home as well. It was a lot of work for a handful of people. We needed a way to make more bags more quickly.

In the meantime, we had a setback. Our church basement flooded and many of the school items collected were ruined. We were able to salvage many of the crayons by obtaining new boxes from Binney & Smith Crayola Company (produced locally) and repackaging them. However, we lost the majority of the notebook paper we had collected. We were able to catch up on “bag making” while we waited to replenish/replace the items lost in the flood.

We recognized an opportunity for a service project in which school students could play an important part. What better group to involve in preparation of “school kits” for world relief? Cathy Schuyler, a teacher of Family and Consumer Science at the Nazareth Area School District Middle School in Nazareth, was contacted to see if this was a project in which the students could participate. The proposal was that materials would be provided to the school, so there would be no financial burden on the school, and bags would be made by students in the classes as time allowed. An individual from Hope Lutheran Church would then pick up the finished bags from the school for packing at the church.

Cathy said that we would need administrative approval to move forward with the project. Jane Callaghan, principal at the Nazareth Area School District Middle School, was receptive to the idea and so the cooperative effort began.

Thus far, 115 tote bags have been completed by the students in Mrs. Barbara Baylor's Family and Consumer Science classes this school year. A special note of thanks goes to Mrs. Baylor, who has pre-cut all of the pieces for the tote bags to be sewn by her students. She would like to see the project continue.

Mrs. Baylor commented that she has had other projects in the past, but never have her students responded so enthusiastically as they have to this one. The students realize their efforts are worthwhile and contribution of time is just as valuable as a monetary gift.

It's wonderful to have our school be a willing partner in such a global "educational" outreach project. We thank the administration, staff, and students of Nazareth Middle School for their efforts in helping others in need.

The school kit project at Hope Lutheran Church began with our WELCA group (an older generation) ingathering of school supplies, continued with the help of middle school students sewing the bags and our youth group filling the bags with the required school items, and finally being boxed up for shipment once again by the WELCA group. This intergenerational effort had been rewarding for all involved.

Our hope is that this article might encourage others to try the “team” approach to accomplishing a goal that they may not have tackled on their own. For more information, contact Hope Lutheran Church at 610-252-5181.