Written by Many of us who wish to help the people of Haiti will never be physically able to go to their island nation and lend a hand. There is a way now, however, for you to help feed a family in Haiti for one week for around $40. It is called “Buckets of Hope.”
I am asking you to please go and purchase a five-gallon bucket with handle and form-fitting lid, and fill it. The buckets must be new and unused. Originally we were told that the buckets had to be white and could not have any company logos. I am told by a good friend who works for the North American Mission Board that “the rules are now being relaxed, and orange Home Depot buckets (with or without a logo) are acceptable, because (State Conventions will put a Disaster Relief logo over the commercial logo). Each bucket must have a sturdy form fitting lid. For a list of places to purchase buckets look here. In my area the Ace Hardware bucket and lid costs $4.98 before tax with a discount after I told the store manager why I wanted it. The manager told me that if I could get 100 people to buy a bucket at the discounted price she could donate another 20 buckets to the cause. The Home Depot bucket and lid cost $3.32 before tax without any discounts, or value added donations.
The food items can and should be generic, store brand items so that you can afford to help a maximum number of Haitians. Do not substitute any items listed and do not add additional items. (Each bucket must clear customs. Were they to check a bucket that was not packed according to the standard your bucket could jeopardize the entire shipment).
- 2 – 5-pound bags long grain enriched rice
- 1 – 48-ounce plastic bottle cooking oil
- 2 – 2-pound bags dry black beans (can substitute with red beans)
- 1 – 5-pound bag of all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
- 1 – 20-ounce cylinder container of granulated white sugar (coffee service size)
- 2 – 1-pound boxes of spaghetti noodles
- 1 – 2-pound 8-ounce (40 oz) plastic jar of creamy peanut butter
- 1 – 2-gallon plastic ziplock storage bag (used to wrap the bottle of cooking oil)
The bucket and the food items should be able to be purchased for around $30. When I purchased these items at my local Wal Mart the cost was $19.89. Adding the costs of the bucket from Ace Hardware the cost was approximately $25. That is not much money to feed a typical Haitian family for a week. An additional $10 is needed to ship the bucket to Haiti.
With millions homeless in Haiti there are a lot of hungry people which we need to feed.
34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25:34–40 (NASB)
Please send a ‘Bucket of Hope” to the people in Haiti for $40, encourage your friends and co-workers to send a ‘Bucket of Hope” to the people in Haiti. Have your church or civic organization send ‘Buckets of Hope” to the people in Haiti.
Visit the “Buckets of Hope” website, or log on to the SBDR Facebook page and tell them what your church or organization is doing. You can even make a donation to SBDR via cell phone and text message by texting nambdr to 40579. A $10 donation will be charged to your cell phone account and sent to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
The video below shows you how to pack your bucket. Once your bucket of hope is packed take it to your local Southern Baptist Church or Association office and they should be able to take it from there. If not, contact me and I will assist you in finding the distribution center nearest you.
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