Little Miss Sunshine contestants collect food for Blessed To Blessing boxes

Little Miss Sunshine contestants collect food for Blessed To Blessing boxes
From one to 80 boxes in three years while letting folks know help is available

Young ladies participating in the recent Little Miss Sunshine Pageant (above) collected food donations for Blessed to Blessing Boxes of Baldwin County as part of the event’s community service festivities.
The non-profit was started by Lori Keelin just 18 months ago and between setting up its own boxes and spreading the word about affiliate boxes, it now includes more than 80 locations between Orange Beach and Bay Minette.
“We are completely volunteer and donation based,’’ said volunteer Tiffany Rittich. “The need is great in our area. So many want to help, but don’t know we exist.’’
The hope for the project is to make boxes full of items needed for everyday life available for those who may be struggling to make ends meet. The signs on the boxes simply say: “Take what you need. Leave what you can.’’
South Baldwin locations include J&M Tackle in Orange Beach, RAC Health & Fitness in Robertsdale; Whitehaven Insurance, Wayne T. Martin, D.D.S, Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church and Gulf Shores First Presbyterian Church in Gulf Shores; Elberta Pharmacy, the Elberta Civic Center and the Miflin Community Center in Elberta; and South Baldwin Christian Church and United Methodist Church in Foley.
The box on Keller Rd. in Foley that has to be restocked daily. There are also boxes at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lillian and Loxley Elementary School. Check the Blessed to Blessings facebook page for a complete list of locations.
When Keelin first took an idea from friends to put up a few wooden boxes and stock them with food for the needy in the area, she had her eye on one, maybe two box locations.
“We just thought we were going to build a couple of boxes and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves in for but we’re not complaining,” Keelin said.
“Some churches have them out like the First Presbyterian in Gulf Shores. If somebody tells me they have one I ask them if they want us to add them to the list. I have people on fire to stock these boxes so if we can get them on the list, they’ll have more exposure.”
Volunteers like Billy Prewett and Kenny Keelin (Lori’s husband) have stepped up to make the boxes for the project.
Keelin put her first box up in Robertsdale, and it soon blossomed into something much larger.
“I made this little group on Facebook and they started inviting their friends and before I knew it people were saying I’ll take a box or I’ll take a box or we have a box but it’s not getting a lot of use,’’ she said. “It’s been like this huge snowball effect of everybody wanting to help everybody. It’s been wonderful.”
Keelin said the boxes are easily accessible for those in need and those wanting to fulfill that need. Plus, they are available to people who may have transportation issues getting to food banks and pantries during regular business hours. Boxes are being placed within walking distance of neighborhoods where they are most needed.
“This is the quickest, easiest way that we could find to get food into people’s hands without red tape,” Keelin said.
With the help of so many enthusiastic people coming together through the Facebook page, Keelin’s vision continues to grow.
““The main thing that we need to make this happen is community communication,’’ she said. “Those little groups on Facebook that’s really what’s keeping this going. It’s not me. I don’t want any credit because without the communication of the community because you see everybody is answering questions. They’re not waiting for me to give instructions. People have taken ownership in this project like those boxes belong to those people.”