Turning Paper Bags into Treasures - Churches Share an Easter Surprise with 15,000 Inner-City Kids

NEW YORK, March 29, 2010— st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Volunteers from across the United States are using simple, white paper bags to create a special Easter surprise for struggling inner-city kids.  The Easter Bags are filled with candy, crayons, toys and a specially designed Bible story activity book.

Urban ministry Here's Life Inner City plans to fill 15,000 Easter Bags this year.  The Easter Bags will be distributed by partner ministries in 13 cities*-where volunteers will share them with needy children at special Easter events or by going door-to-door in inner-city neighborhoods.  

"I've seen the children's faces light up as they encounter the story of Easter and experience God's love-in many cases for the very first time," said Ted Gandy, national director of Here's Life Inner City.

Here's Life Inner City still needs help to reach as many children as possible with this project.  To sponsor an Easter Bag, visit www.HLIC.org.

Since 1983, Here's Life Inner City and more than a thousand partner churches and organizations have been responding to the growing epidemic of poverty and despair in the inner city. The wide-ranging efforts have provided the poor with food and other basic necessities, life skills, career development and youth development programs.

Here's Life Inner City, the urban ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, International, is dedicated to equipping churches to provide help and hope to the poverty-stricken in their communities.  To partner with Here's Life Inner City with efforts to provide Easter Bags to inner-city kids, visit www.HLIC.org.

*This year Easter Bags will be delivered to inner-city kids in Atlanta; Bakersfield, Calif.; Little Rock, Ark.; Chicago; Denver; Detroit; Jacksonville, Fla.; Los Angeles; Milwaukee; Minneapolis/St. Paul; New York; Orlando, Fla.; and Seattle.

MEDIA NOTE: For city-specific Easter Bag distribution details, contact Karen Dye or Todd Shearer at (770) 813-0000.

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