Serving September is Right Around the Corner!

Serving September is less than a month a way — have you thought about how your community can participate?

In past years, Midwest Mission has celebrated Serving Sunday, a day to celebrate the joy of serving. But, this year we decided celebrating for a whole month sounds a lot more fun!

Serving together brings people together, and the impact we make is multiplied when we all work together. You, your church, your small group, or your community can join us in a variety of ways — there's something for everyone!

Ways to Participate:

1. Collect Items — You could choose a specific Kit to collect items for, pick a few used items to collect, or choose our current needs! All items listed at midwestmission.org/collect-donate and midwestmission.org/kits are needed, and will bless people who will receive them.

2. Assemble Kits — Choose a Kit, collect items for a couple weeks (or purchase items ahead of time), and then host an event where people can assemble the Kits. This is a great community-building project, and allows people of all ages to get involved.

3. Make Handmade Items — If you or someone you know loves to sew, knit, or crochet, there are a lot of projects you can do! Visit midwestmission.org/patterns to see the different items.

4. Host a Mission Event — If you'd like to host a big event through Midwest Mission, we have some days and weekends in September available (especially if you are willing to pick up supplies from Midwest Mission). Visit midwestmission.org/off-site to learn more.

5. Hold a Fundraiser — Midwest Mission is blessed with an abundance of donated items, but that doesn't cover everything we are asked to send! Midwest Mission purchases most of the items volunteers assemble and send out. It costs an average of $1,500 per day for the Kits volunteers make at Midwest Mission. You can hold a fundraiser raising funds for Kits, so that we can send more items to people in need around the world and around the corner.

Help Reach the Goal of Making 2,500 Student Kits



While there are a variety of ways to get involved, this year, we've set the goal of 2,500 Student Kits to be made during Serving September, so we have enough Student Kits to be pre-staged before the 2026 Disaster Season. These Kits are vital for giving kids a way to cope with the trauma that comes from disaster. Whether stateside or around the world, Student Kits give children the chance to just be a kid, even when chaos ensues around them.

How?

1. Collect Supplies

2. Assemble the Kits

3. Deliver the Kits to Midwest Mission or a Permanent Collection Site near you

4. Impact Lives!

Learn more about Serving September and all the ways you can participate at midwestmission.org/servingseptember.

This Church is Looming Love Into Every Mat!

A wonderful group of ladies from Avon United Methodist Church recently gathered to complete a special service project. Their small group, called Koinonia, met to create Midwest Mission Sleeping Mats using one of our looms. Together, they made over 57 Sleeping Mats made entirely from recycled grocery sacks!

Their dedication was so inspiring that someone at their church arranged for them to receive a second loom, allowing them to double their production. They were also given a designated space in the church, now lovingly called their “Loom Room.” Since then, they’ve begun distributing the mats to HVAF (Helping Veterans and Families), the American Legion, and two other local organizations that support and feed people experiencing homelessness.

It’s been an exciting and meaningful journey, combining environmental management with compassionate service. By reusing old grocery bags, they’re helping the planet while also helping people sleep more comfortably.

Koinonia has also taken their mission a step further by teaching others how to loom. They’ve shared their skills with kids, men, and seniors, some from their church, others from the community. They even partnered with their local DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) chapter to teach the bag-cutting process. Over time, they’ve begun experimenting with different creative patterns, turning the mats into both functional and beautiful gifts.

This project has been more than just a service opportunity; it’s been a source of joy, learning, and connection. They’ve found it deeply fulfilling to use their hands and hearts to help others. In addition to making mats, they now offer lessons to anyone interested in learning the loom process, from properly cutting the bags to assembling the final product. Local churches and community members have stepped up to donate bags, creating a ripple effect of generosity and teamwork.

“I would like to say thank you to Midwest Mission for putting this on our radar. The fellowship and sense of belonging this project has given us is hard to put into words. It helps those in need, recycles for a better environment, and brings people together,” said Koinonia member, Michele Pitts.

This story is incredibly heartwarming and meaningful to us. Stories like these are exactly what make our work at Midwest Mission so rewarding. Hearing about this group of devoted volunteers giving their time and talents to such a worthy cause means the world to us. Even more meaningful is the fact that they’ve found local organizations to directly receive the mats, ensuring their impact is felt immediately by those in need.

This is exactly what we dreamed would happen with our looms, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.



Thank you to the ladies of Koinonia and everyone who has contributed to this project. Your hard work and dedication are helping to send hope and empowerment to those facing dark and difficult times.