It was so exciting to see how the Lord provided for 100 shoeboxes. Anna and Mary asked the Lord in faith for that many, and then they were diligent to put the time and effort into their Independence Day/Christmas Breakfast fundraiser. They’re very grateful for the donors who gave the money they needed.
Anna and Mary worked throughout the year on carefully buying items on sale in preparation for the boxes.
For example, after Resurrection Sunday (Easter), they bought tons of candy (non-chocolate). At back-to-school time, they purchased many school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, etc, for good prices. Since quite a few of the boxes were for little girls ages 2-4, they decided to make headbands (see links below). They purchased tons of stuffed cats and sets of play trucks from IKEA (side note: the girls need to start carrying shoebox brochures with them on their shopping days because the comments one gets when one is purchasing so many cats or so many washcloths?!!!). The trucks were high quality and came in sets of three, so even though a box was maybe $12, it ended up to be $4 per truck.
Here are some of the items we purchased from Amazon in bulk. That may help you out for next year’s shoeboxes if you’re interested. The links are Titus2’s affiliate, so see our disclosure here.
- 50 Rubber Ducks
- 144 Glow in the Dark Balls
- 50 Flowers for Headbands
- 24 Headbands
- Felt Circles (you’ll need this to hot glue onto the headband and then glue the flower on top)
- 72 Combs
- 250 Bouncy Balls
Our dentist, Dr. Mark Clemens here in Leavenworth, very generously donated over 70 toothbrushes for the boxes!
Assembly time came ::: and excitement filled the air.
Anna and Mary set up the line, with empty boxes on one end, and supplies on the table.
The headbands turned out so cute!
Anna is definitely the mover/shaker behind this project and took the lead role.
Mary gave the final quality touch and then closed the boxes with rubber bands.
::: God provided! :::
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1
It is such a pleasure to see the next generation of Maxwells join in on the fun and joy of giving to others!
Oh my! I LOVED seeing this post and these photos!! This made my heart happy. 🙂 You girls have certainly worked hard to bring smiles to children across the world. May the Lord continue to bless you for your service to Him by serving others. This is wonderful. 🙂
Love, Mrs. Patti
Love this post so much!! Way to go ladies. May the Lord richly bless your efforts!! <3
It is so neat to see the Lord provide for your goal! I know your hard work will bless many children this Christmas. I love the assembly line and organization- you all did such a great job! Love all the pictures!
Oh my goodness!! That is alot of boxes-100!! WOW! Gooood work girlys!
This is amazing!
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
What a wonderful gift you are to those receiving your boxes.
Blessings, Mari
There were so many great tips in this post!
You all should definitely start giving out brochures if someone asks about it. Maybe it could inspire them to participate as well.
It was also a great idea to ask a local dentist about donating the tooth brushes.
The headbands were adorable and very financially savvy.
My hardest problem would be not getting everything to fit 🙂
Cool
wowowowowowowow:):):):) LOL
Y’all might be interested in the website for Oriental Trading. You can get bulk items for any and every event possible and the prices are usually pretty reasonable. My aunt and uncle do a church carnival for the kids every year and they get all their supplies and prizes and things from Oriental Trading.
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Yes, we have gotten things from there too!
What an awesome idea for filling such a large number of boxes! You guys are such a blessing. We miss you all!
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Awww. Miss you too!