Pawtucket Times: All about 'doing for others'

Heeding Dr. King's words, volunteers tackle Blessing Boxes project

By Joseph Fitzgerald / jfitzgerald@woonsocketcall.com

WOONSOCKET — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?”

The Woonsocket Martin Luther King Community Committee and NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley were doing their part to answer that question Saturday at St. James Baptist Church on South Main Street, where more than 30 volunteers young and old kicked off a year-long service project repurposing old newspaper boxes into mini-food pantries called Blessing Boxes.

The concept is simple. The box is a miniature food pantry - receiving items from those who want to donate, and offering it to those who need them.

This small-scale charity movement is starting to take hold in neighborhoods across the country, including Woonsocket, where volunteers representing the Woonsocket Martin Luther King Community Committee, St. James Baptist Church, NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, Americorps and Citizens Bank spent most of Saturday afternoon turning 11 newspaper boxes donated by The Call/Times into Blessing Boxes to be placed at local churches and businesses in Woonsocket to provide food and supplies to anyone in need.

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