My Cause: Backpacks For The Homeless

Backpacks For The Homeless

WE GOT YOUR BACK.

GIVE BACK. GIVE A PACK.

THIS SIMPLE GIFT CAN CHANGE A LIFE.

Hello everybody, welcome to my blog, Backpacks for the Homeless. This is a cause that is important to me, I like to help others & give back to the community. I started this at the beginning of the year. One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2015 was to help others in need and that are less fortunate. So I started putting backpacks together for the homeless in my area. At the beginning of the year I handed out so many backpacks, I would say around 30 or more. The looks on the faces of those who receive one for me is why I do what I do. The look of gratitude & happiness, sometimes it brings tears of joy to my eyes & to their eyes. I want the homeless in my area to know that they are NOT alone & that God has sent me to help them out in their time of need. I mostly buy all the stuff for the backpacks BUT I also have started getting donations of backpacks, bags & other items needed for the backpacks. Winter is upon us & its going to start getting cold outside & I want to make sure the homeless have what they need to survive this Winter. 

As you can see in the photo above & to the left, these are items that I put in the backpacks that I have bought & that have been donated for my cause. Most items are the essential items but homeless people are just like us and like the same things as us so I try to put other items in each backpack to give it a unique feel. One backpack I packed earlier this year had a Bob Marley belt. I put together backpacks for guys & for girls & also put together a few for kids, girls and boys. I have only handed 2 backpacks for kids however. You would be surprised how many children are living in the homeless shelter. The backpacks I handed out for kids I gave to an Army Veteran that I had first met when I went to the homeless shelter in my area.

When I first met him I had only backpacks for women with me but I told him I would be back & I would have a special backpack packed just for him. Well, I did just that. I packed a special backpack just for him. I put a Bob Marley belt in there & I also put my Army Jacket in it along with a few other items that weren't on my list like a journal and some pens & I put some money in it for him. At that time I didn't know he had a son & daughter but after I had first met him someone donated children's backpacks to me so I decided to pack them. It was a girl's backpack & a boy's backpack. Someone had also donated a bunch of kids stuff & I had also bought a bunch of toys & other children's items. So I packed the 2 backpacks & I had them in my truck by chance. When I went by the homeless shelter that day he was sitting out back at a picnic table & I saw him so I decided to pull in the parking lot & go talk to him. I just so happened to have with me the special backpack that I had put together for him. So I got out & I said hey again guess what, I brought you the backpack I told you I would put together for you. And then I proceeded to tell him how I put it together just for him & was telling him what was in it. He sounded so grateful & appreciative & it really made my day. We chatted for a few minutes & I don't know remember what we were talking about but it came up in conversation that he had a son & a daughter & that they were at school at the moment. I told him I just so happened to have 2 kids backpacks, one for a girl and one for a boy and I gave it to him to give to his children. He was so happy and smiling from ear to ear and he shook my hand. I never caught what his name was but I will never forget his face. He was a very nice person & I hope to meet him again one day.

I haven't stopped by the homeless shelter in a few months because I am ran out of supplies but I have been slowly building my supplies up so I can put together more backpacks. Especially because it is getting colder & I want to get the backpacks to them before it does get cold. I will post a list of items that I am in need of. It is a long list, you would be surprised maybe what the needs of homeless people are, maybe not. They need the same things we do ya know. I always try to add a special touch to each backpack that I pack. I want each backpack to be unique & packed with love & care. 

So you may be asking why I help the homeless. Well, God showed me my need so I could be better aware of the needs of others. What's your WHY? When you know why you do what you do even the toughest days become easier! 

Here is a list of items that are needed:

Updated list of items needed:

•toothbrush & toothpaste

•combs & brushes

•body wash & soap

• school supplies

•bibles & religious materials

•Pens

•lotions & hand sanitizer

•Lufas & wash cloths

•bottled water & flavor packets

•deodorant (men & women)

•cologne & perfume

•Tampons & pads

•coffee cups (not glass mugs)

•shampoo & conditioner 

•tooth floss & dental picks

•band aids 

•religious crosses

•Hats (beanies for men & women)

•scarves

•gloves

•add a personal note to show you care

•wool beanie hat

•instant coffee

•stamps & envelopes 

•pre-paid phone cards

•multi-purpose wipes

•Chapstick & lip balm

•facial wipes

•multi-purpose tool

•can opener

•fruit snacks

•mints & gum 

•cough drops

•wool socks or any socks

•tea

•beef jerky

•dried fruit

•trail mix

•nuts

•granola bars

•protein powder packets

•restaurant gift cards

•journal & pen

•stationary

•moisturizer 

•grooming kit

•cookie snack packs

•backpacks or sturdy bags

•quarters

•water bottles

•first aid kit

•toothbrush kit

•razors

•applesauce 

• 11 pairs of size L winter gloves

•55 pairs of size XL winter gloves

•180 pair of wool socks

•canned tuna & chicken 

•canned fruits

•canned vegetables 

•peanut butter

•individual applesauce 

•instant oatmeal

•gift cards

•gallon size ziplock bags

•packets of tissues 

•hotel size shampoos

•mouthwash

•Tylenol

As you can tell there are a lot of items needed. My supply of items has gone down as I have packed so many backpacks. I am starting to build back up my supply of items and things that have been donated. I originally stated that I would not take clothing donations but I have decided that I am going to rent a storage unit that way I have plenty of room for everything. I could keep the stuff at my house but I would rather get a storage unit so I could have everything nice and organized and that way I can just go through each thing & put it in the backpack. I have OCD so getting a storage unit would work better for me as I can organize everything so much better. I am expecting my cause, Backpacks for the Homeless to go big & grow. I have gotten a lot of great feedback from doing this & have even had several people say they would like to volunteer and I have also had several people donate items & donate backpacks. I am so excited about this & I'm happy that I can give back to the community and help others that are in need. I will be their voice, I will stand up for them. 

For those of you who don't know, I am an Army Veteran. And one reason I really started this was because I first met a homeless Veteran & I gave him a backpack. That was the first backpack I had ever given out. Being that I am a Veteran I feel that I need to help my brothers and sisters in arms. When you join the military you have a bond with your battle buddies. You have given an oath to help each other. Never leave a fallen comrade was the motto in the Army. That doesn't just mean on the battlefield either. So many soldiers come back from War with PTSD & other problems & have to get used to adjusting back into Civilian life and for some it is really hard to do. And because of that some of them become homeless. It is very sad that we have homeless veterans because they have given their life to defend our country and fight for OUR freedom and this is the way the government takes care of them. SMH! This is kind of a touchy subject for me so I won't even get started on that, we'll just leave it at that. Just know that as I do this, packing backpacks that is, I make sure to take care of any Veteran that I come into contact with that is homeless. VETS - We don't leave our wounded behind! Like I said, NEVER LEAVE A FALLEN COMRADE. That is on and off the battlefield. It saddens me to see that our country has so many homeless Veterans. If I could open up a homeless shelter just for homeless Veterans I would. That may be a goal of mine in the future. It is something to think about. Earlier above I had said that I had met an Army Veteran at my local homeless shelter & also that the very first backpack that I packed was for a Marine Veteran. Well, after I started Backpacks for the Homeless I vowed to make sure every Veteran that I come in contact gets a backpack, especially made for them with love & care. So far, I have only packed 2 backpacks for homeless Veterans. I have only come in contact with 2 homeless Veterans so that is why. But I was at the Veteran's Clinic and the nurse and I were talking as she took my blood pressure and I was telling her about packing the backpacks and I asked her if homeless Veteran's came in there to the Veteran's Clinic. She said yes and that I would be surprised actually how many homeless Veteran's we have in our area. She didn't tell me how many there were but she said the numbers were pretty high. Like I said, it saddens me that these men & women go fight for our country & then they come back from war & can't transition back into Civilian life & end up homeless due to the spoils of war. I said don't get me started on that & that I would leave it at that but then I began to continue to rant about that, well, its because I have a special place in my heart for homeless Veteran's because well, I am a Veteran. All Veterans have a special bond you could say.

As you can see here are more items I collected earlier this year. I had a huge stock of items for the backpacks but I handed out so many backpacks that I have begun to run out of things needed. And I had also ran out of backpacks & bags but yesterday I met up with a lady who donated several backpacks to my cause. Maggie was her name, very sweet lady. I am so grateful to her for donating backpacks to my cause. Because well, like I said my supply of items and backpacks was dwindling down. But with Winter coming up I am going to be starting to get more donations coming in & having more backpacks and bags be donated to the cause. This is something that is important to me. You may think I am crazy.. You may wonder why I would help out the homeless. Like who cares right? Well, that may be YOUR attitude and mindset but NOT mine. I know I have a good heart and I have good intentions with doing all this.

I created this collage to the left to show what items I have used in the past for the backpacks. Most are essential items like shampoo and conditioner and soap etc. I also like to make each backpack unique and different in its own way. EVERY backpack that I put together gets a bible or some type of religious book or religious material. When you are down on your luck like these people are you may think there is no hope and they make think that God has forgotten about them but he hasn't. God loves all his children. I can't explain the reason that these people have become homeless but I think they have just had bad luck and hard times. With this economy the way it is these days a lot of people are suffering and a lot more people are ever becoming homeless. I have a friend from high school that just recently fell on bad times and ended up homeless. Thankfully with donations from friends, family and strangers they were able to afford a hotel room but they ended up losing their home due to falling on hard times. It happens to the best of us. And well, with this economy being the way it is, that makes it even harder to actually live these days. I am not rich by no means at all. I am struggling and trying to make it in this world too but like I said earlier, I like to help others & give back to the community. 

I have always liked to help others even since I was a kid. When I was younger I always had nice toys and the best of everything. My parents worked hard and made sure my sister and I always had what we needed and what we wanted. Yes we were spoiled you could say. When my friends from school would come over and they saw all the nice things I had they would make a comment about how they wished they had one so me being the loving caring person that I am and well I felt bad because I had something they didn't because there parents couldn't afford to buy them nice things like I had. So I would give them my toys that I didn't play with anymore. It made them very happy and I was glad to see them smile and become excited when I gave it to them.

Help US Help Them. #backpacksforthehomeless

Feel free to share my blog post or like it. Feel free to use the hashtag #backpacksforthehomeless Share on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media website that you use. I am trying to get the word out on my cause. Its a great cause & it means a lot to me. If you would like to volunteer or donate items or backpacks or bags to the homeless you can message me on Facebook, my name on there is Aiden Kirchner or you can send me a text my number is 5402944887. I would prefer you text me because I don't like talking on the phone. If you do happen to call me and I don't answer please leave me a voicemail & your number so I can get back in touch with you. Everyone have a great day day, its beautiful outside so go outside & enjoy it while it lasts. Thanks in advance for any help any of you may be able to give. And a big shoutout to our loving father God who watches over us every single day.