Green stamps for cookware. Cereal box tops for Betty Crocker™ items. Grocery receipts for computers. Over the last 50 years, many have saved for commercial products. And the trend continues today, but the reward reaches deeper.
The Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries is working for a 15-passenger van by collecting soup labels.
The Children’s Homes began collecting Campbell’s Soup™ labels last fall with a goal to obtain 1 million labels by the end of 2001. And the Baptist entity is well on its way.
Between 500 and 1,500 labels come in every day, said Janette McConnell, project coordinator.
“They’re coming in by the envelope and box full every day,” McConnell said. “People are just so faithful to send.”
Originally, McConnell responded to each donation personally, but now receives help from volunteers because of the enormous response.
McConnell opens the letters and reads each of them.
The labels are then passed to volunteers who clip, bundle and count the labels. They also write thank you notes to the groups that send the labels.
McConnell described these groups as the “faithful people who make it happen.”
One group of volunteers is a Sunday School class from Lakeside Baptist Church, Hoover.
The other volunteer group is the youth group at Central Baptist Church, Gardendale. Each week, they work on the labels as a missions project during discipleship training.
Brian Fallin, minister to students at Central Baptist, said the on-going missions effort is “a pretty big task” the students look forward to with enthusiasm and excitement every week.
“They enjoy it,” he said.
More importantly, however, Fallin knows the students are learning about ministry.
“This incorporates another part of our ministry into action,” he said.
“It’s exploded far beyond what I thought it would,” McConnell said, pointing out that churches from every corner of the state have participated by way of individuals, men’s group, Woman’s Missionary Union groups, senior adult groups and various youth groups.
McConnell said more than just the big bundles from large groups are appreciated.
“The blessing comes when it’s just a small envelope with three labels,” McConnell said. “The writing is that of a senior adult. They are on a fixed income, yet they want to do what they can to help kids across the state.
“It’s been wonderful for this ministry to provide a way for people to give,” she continued. “Blessings come in all shapes and sizes, even red and white labels.”
The label collection is not the first of its type for the Children’s Homes. An appliance was purchased with green stamps one year and a building debt was paid off from Colgate-Palmolive™ labels. The Children’s Homes also collected Octagon™ soup labels in the 1930s.
The Children’s Homes also has recently received a wooden Noah’s ark playset, educational toys and game books.
While personnel at the Children’s Homes are looking forward to meeting the 1 million soup labels goal, they do have a backup plan if they do not receive enough. They will use the labels they receive for educational equipment, computers and items for the various homes.
For information about donating soup labels to the Children’s Homes, contact McConnell at 205-982-1112.
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