Ark Valley News - Box built to bless

The Hammond family (from left) Skyler, Heaven, Aydenn, Jeff and Olivia with the Blessing Box.

Box built to bless
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: August 24, 2017

It's a red box, but it doesn't contain movies or games.

A Paxton's Blessing Box was installed in the front yard of a Valley Center family's home Aug. 12 in an effort to provide a little bit of food and toiletries to local residents who may need them.

"Everybody just needs something some time, not all the time," said Heaven Hammond, who spearheaded the effort to get the box in Valley Center. "

The box is on the north side of Fifth Street just west of Meridian, one of the busiest intersections in Valley Center.

"That's what we were hoping, because of our location, it gets recognized, and it gets seen," Hammond said.

Like front yard library boxes, the Blessing Box operates on an honor system. Residents are welcome to take what they need or drop off items in the box to keep it stocked for the next person.

Canned goods, toiletries, formula, diapers, ready-to-heat meals, those types of things, said Maggie Ballard of Wichita, who started Paxton's Blessing Box. It's named for her 7-year-old son, Paxton Burns. The one in Valley Center is the eighth in the Wichita area.

"I saw a post in Table Rock," Ballard said. "It was like a kitchen cupboard, really big. We live on 13th in Riverside, and we get lots of foot traffic. We put the first one at our house and it just kind of took off."

Hammond said she saw the effort on Facebook and reached out to Ballard to see if it was a good fit for Valley Center. It turned out the two knew one another, and the project went forward.

"As much as all the boxes are used, it shows that there is an extreme need for it," Ballard said. "We might not be able to save everybody, but if I can kind of help them get through the day, then that's what our goal is. … Everybody has a different situation."

Hammond said anyone using the box is welcome to pull into the driveway to avoid parking in the busy street.