Anchored Beginnings is collecting shoes and donations for blessing boxes this fall before one of their team members, Rachel Krueger and her family, travel to Haiti to donate the collected items.
Children and adults often have no means to purchase a new or used pair of shoes, instead they cut the toes out of their existing shoes to allow for growth. This way the shoes can still be used for foot protection.
In addition to shoes, the group is accepting donations for their blessing boxes that will be handed out to children at an annual Christmas party in Haiti. This past summer, the group served 43 children at Vacation Bible School and expects even more children at Christmas so have set a goal of 100 boxes.
Anchored Beginnings all started from a passionate and dedicated young man in Haiti. Bethel Jean, now a 24 year old young man, wanted to make the world around him better so prayed for and found a team based in the United States who would come around him and help.
Bethel originally approached Rachel Krueger and Karen Schaaf about sending gifts for the children for Christmas back in 2013. The two strangers who both had a heart for Haiti met and worked together to fill suitcases and send them to Haiti with another Minnesota woman who was traveling to Haiti.
Since then Anchored Beginnings has accomplished many more projects together to better life for Bethel and his family and that area of Haiti. The team traveled to Haiti together in the summer of 2014 and officially met Bethel and his family.
The vision of the team is to offer hope, create opportunities and impact lives through Christ in Haiti and they are doing that through immeasurable ways.
Four of the team members of Anchored Beginnings.
Troy & Karen Schaaf, Trent Elder and Rachel Krueger
Since becoming a non profit and an official 501-c3 organization the group has installed a water tank, chicken coop, helped establish a monthly food program, helped pay for 2 hernia surgeries, provided money for six youth to go to school, built a security wall, hired sponsorship advocate, helped create and sell jewelry and led and taught a Kids in Christ summer program.
“This is a smaller, more intimate way that donors can see exactly where their money goes. I needed more of an interpersonal connection,” Rachel explains.
“Our biggest vision is that we can help people help themselves. Help them to become sufficient and keep families together when appropriate, every organization has their own place in Haiti and this is ours,” explained co-founder Karen.
For more information on donating or getting involved with Anchored Beginnings, visit their website.
Shoe donations can be dropped off at Logo Stop in Albertville through December 5.
To donate to Blessing Boxes, contact Rachel Krueger at 612-710-3613