Dec 22, 2015 2 min read

ELLSWORTH – Karlee Reeves of Ellsworth is hoping to spread holiday cheer to the homeless of Pittsburgh with her “blessing bags.”

The 18-year-old member of River of Life Christian Fellowship in Ellsworth, along with other members of the church who came together to support her, began the blessing bag project to create care packages filled with warm clothes, food and toiletries for the homeless.

“I’ve been trying to do a community service project through the church for awhile now,” Reeves said.

Each blessing bag will contain items such as blankets, toothbrushes, deodorant, combs, band-aids and dry food. There will also be feminine products included for any women in need.

The items were packaged last weekend, and will be handed out today .

According to Reeves, three or four trucks will be loaded and the gifts taken to the Hot Metal Bridge in the South Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where they will be distributed to those in need.

“We’re going to have hot chocolate, pepperoni rolls and baked goods,” Reeves said. “We’re also going to have the blessing bags set up, as well as the clothes, to give out.”

The church gave Reeves access to the basement for storage and she was allowed to come and go as she pleased in order to keep track of inventory and create the packages.

The collection grew larger, as church members donated goods and money to help Reeves’ efforts.

“We don’t have a big church, there’s only 36 people on Sunday morning,” said Debbie Lukich, the secretary for River of Life. “Everyone really rallied around her.”

This is the first year Reeves and her church have done the blessing bags, but it is something Reeves hopes to keep going in the coming years.

“I think it’s just shocking that this is something surprising to people. I feel like it is something that should be done more often,” Reeves said.