Loren Nelson, Barbara Nelson, Pastor John CheekFirst Presbyterian Church members and friends donated 28 backpacks to the local Children, Youth and Families Department for their "Pull Together" program on May 2nd. The backpacks are given to children when CYFD has to place them in Foster Care. The colorful backpacks and diaper bags are filled with age-appropriate items including infant bottles, sippy cups, stuffed animals, throw blankets, coloring books with crayons or colored pencils, Nerf balls or stress balls and a personal diary.

"This has been an amazing mission project for our church," says Barbara Nelson, Project coordinator. "We encouraged our congregation members to pull together to fill seven backpacks. Instead, they donated enough items and backpacks to assemble 23 of them. Then, we contacted the various community groups who use our building asking if they would like to join us in this project. These groups donated an additional five backpacks."

First Presbyterian's mission is to serve where the needs of children and the struggles of poverty intersect.

Other individuals or groups interested in donating to the CYFD's Pull Together program should contact Melissa Gonzales, CYFD County Manager at 575.538.2945, extension 42378.