Kevin Garrison worked the overnight shift for Amtrak helping to keep the trains running in an out of New York City. And in 2016, he was looking for a charitable Christmas project. An online post about a blessing bag – a plastic bag filled with everyday hygiene and food products caught his eye. It proved to be the start of the Blessing Bag Brigade – a non-profit that has delivered 65,000 blessing bags to those in need.
But in 2016, he was looking for a small charitable project to celebrate Christmas. On his computer, he saw a posting about a “blessing bag” – a small plastic bag filled with everyday hygiene and food products that could be distributed to those in need. With the help of his friends, he put together 200 blessing bags. After then after work, he walked around Penn Station and distributed the bags to homeless men and women. He did this for about two weeks.
Four years later Kevin has formed the Blessing Bag Brigade – a non-profit in New Jersey that has distributed over 65,000 blessing bags to the less fortunate. And last year, with the support of his fiancé, he retired from Amtrak and now manages this non-profit on a full time basis. And he couldn’t be happier.
Click here to learn more about Kevin Garrison and the Blessing Bag Brigade.
Great article. One of the most important things needed and rarely thought of – is socks – both in summer and winter. In summer I have seen people sit down on the blacktop in the parking lot and peel off their old socks and put on the new ones and throw their old ones in the dumpster and walk as if they were just given a pair of legs that were ten years newer. In the winter, I see them sit in a pile of snow, in the same parking lot and take off their shoes and socks and put on their new socks and put the old thread bare socks on top of the new ones and off they go with joy in their step. One thing not mentioned that I feel is important to share is if you are going to donate socks, please remember: They do not have to be matching. You can throw in single sock ( and gloves, too) and we volunteers will find matching sizes to make a pair out of. Socks help in summer, to not get blisters and infections from sweating feet in filthy socks that are stuck to the skin and in winter, an extra warm layer on the feet help prevent frost bite. Any local food pantry would be happy to get any of the donations mentioned in this article. Toiletries and socks are as important as food.