Ladies of the Gladstone Park Church are preparing "Bags of Love" for children in need when they meet every third Sunday of the month.
"Bags of Love" are filled with toys, a stuffed animal, a homemade comforter and personal hygiene items. These bags are given to children who have had to leave their homes (usually without their personal belongings) when their caregivers were arrested, often on drug charges.
"At our first meeting in February, a representative from the Hood View Church came and gave us some pointers on how to begin," says Connie Durbin, head deaconness and project coordinator. "Their church has already made bags and has sent them to Clackamas County Children's Services. They asked us to help them put together more bags."
Advertisements are running in the local newspapers asking for women in the community to come and help prepare the "Bags of Love." In the first few months, five bags have been completed, and the church's outreach to the surrounding neighborhood is continuing as friendships are developing between the church and community women.
