What’s Happening at Blue Water Wish for Kids - August 2026 Update
This summer has marked an exciting new chapter for Blue Water Wish for Kids.
For more than a decade, BWWFK has been known primarily through A Wish for Christmas, which began in 2013. In 2026, we began taking some of our biggest steps yet toward expanding that mission into year-round support for local children and families.
And we're excited to say those new programs aren't just plans anymore. They're happening. 💙
Our first-ever Back-to-School Support season is officially underway, with our first deliveries completed and additional families being assisted throughout the week. Children are receiving clothing, shoes, new socks and other Back-to-School essentials based on their individual needs and available program resources.
Our Blessing Essentials program is also actively serving local families. We've recently provided household and cleaning supplies, hygiene and personal-care products, bedding, towels, kitchen essentials, baby and toddler necessities, children's items and other support to families facing hardship or starting over with very little.
We've also established something BWWFK has never had before: our own dedicated storage space. With the incredible support of donors and community members, we're building an organized inventory of essential items that can be ready when families need them.
Those items are already moving from our shelves and into local homes, which means keeping those shelves stocked will be an ongoing part of our work.
At the same time, we're working to develop sustainable funding for Emergency Family Support, continue building Building Strong Families and Kids Give Back, strengthen community partnerships, and prepare for the 2026 A Wish for Christmas season beginning this fall.
There is still a lot we want to build, and we're taking it one step at a time.
But for our first year expanding beyond Christmas, we're incredibly grateful for what our community has already helped make possible.
And we're just getting started. 💙
💙 A Special Thank You
As we celebrate everything that's happening at Blue Water Wish for Kids this year, we also want to recognize a few people whose generosity has helped make this growth possible.
A very special thank you to Todd & Jamie, whose generous financial contribution helped provide the foundation to launch BWWFK's first-ever Back-to-School Support season. Their support allowed us to take an idea we'd been working toward and begin putting it into action for local children.
We also want to give a huge thank you to Kassi, whose generosity has reached across multiple BWWFK programs. Kassi provided backpacks and school supplies to help support our first Back-to-School season and has donated an incredible amount of new essential items to help stock our Blessing Essentials shelves, including household, cleaning, laundry, personal-care, baby and family necessities.
Those shelves are already doing exactly what we hoped they would do: providing resources that can go directly back into our community when local families need them.
A special thank you to William, whose generous and continued support has also helped turn our year-round programs into a reality. From helping us build and equip our new storage space to providing essential items for our shelves and supporting the needs of our programs, William has continued to step up as BWWFK has grown into this next chapter.
Todd, Jamie, William and Kassi, thank you for believing in what we're building and helping us turn new ideas into real support for local children and families. 💙
And of course, we're incredibly grateful to every donor, volunteer, business and community member who has contributed, shared our work, purchased needed items or helped BWWFK along the way. Every contribution is part of what makes this work possible.
Current Initiatives
📦 Blessing Essentials Boxes
Blessing Essentials provides individualized support to local families facing hardship, starting over, or experiencing circumstances that leave them without basic household and personal necessities.
Assistance is based on each family's verified needs and the donations, inventory, and program resources available at the time. Support may include personal-care and hygiene products, cleaning and laundry supplies, bedding and towels, kitchen and household essentials, baby and toddler items, children's clothing and other essential needs.
Some families may need only a few items, while others may be rebuilding with very little or nothing. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, we work to provide assistance based on what each family actually needs and what BWWFK has available.
Blessing Essentials is already actively serving local families, and we're continuing to build our inventory and resources as the program grows. Items donated to our shelves often go right back out as families are assisted, making ongoing community support an important part of keeping this program available.
Community members, businesses and organizations can help by donating currently needed items, contributing financially, hosting a collection drive, shopping our wish lists, or partnering with BWWFK as a community donation location.
Packed with Care. Blessed to Deliver. 💙
🏡 Building Strong Families
Building Strong Families represents the long-term vision behind Blue Water Wish for Kids' year-round growth.
While meeting an immediate need can help a family through a difficult moment, we also want to create opportunities that support children and families beyond that moment.
As BWWFK continues to grow, our vision for Building Strong Families includes developing educational opportunities, family and life-skills resources, youth activities, connections to community services, and partnerships that can help families build greater stability and independence.
💙 Kids Give Back
An important part of that vision is something we're especially excited about: giving children opportunities to give back to their own community.
Through age-appropriate volunteer projects, collection drives, community service activities and partnerships with other local organizations, we want children to experience what it means to help someone else, work together and make a difference.
Some projects may support BWWFK programs, while others may benefit other organizations and needs throughout our community.
We believe supporting children isn't only about what we can provide for them. It's also about helping them discover what they can contribute to the world around them.
This initiative is still developing, and we are taking the time to build it responsibly based on community needs, available resources, funding, and partnerships.
Our long-term vision is to establish a permanent BWWFK home in the community where children and families can access resources, participate in programs and classes, connect with community partners, and have opportunities to learn, grow and build stronger futures.
We know that vision won't happen overnight. Right now, we're building the foundation through our year-round programs, community partnerships, volunteer network, donor support and the relationships we're developing throughout the Blue Water Area.
Building Strong Families is about where we're going next, and we're excited to grow it alongside the community we serve.
🎒 Back-to-School Support
2026 marks the first year of Blue Water Wish for Kids' Back-to-School Support program, and our first season is officially underway!
Through this new program, we're helping local children facing hardship with clothing, shoes, new socks and other Back-to-School essentials. Backpacks may also be provided when needed and available.
Our first Back-to-School deliveries have officially gone out, with additional families being assisted as we continue throughout the week.
We're incredibly grateful to the donors and community supporters who helped make the launch of this new program possible, including Todd & Jamie, whose generous financial contribution helped provide the foundation for our first Back-to-School season.
As our first year continues, we're learning, growing and working to build a program that can continue serving local students in the years ahead. Assistance remains based on available donations, inventory, program funding and each family's needs.
Back-to-School Ready! 🎒💙
🎄 A Wish for Christmas
A Wish for Christmas remains a cornerstone of Blue Water Wish for Kids. During the 2025 Christmas season, our community came together to provide Christmas support for 360 local children, made possible through the generosity of adopters, donors, shoppers, businesses, and community supporters.
Preparation for the 2026 Christmas season is already underway.
We are currently seeking Community Partners, financial contributions, and in-kind donations of new toys and gifts to help us prepare. Businesses and organizations can also support A Wish for Christmas by hosting a collection drive, serving as a donation drop-off location, sponsoring program needs, or partnering with us in other ways.
Application information, child adoption opportunities, and additional Christmas updates will be shared as the season approaches.
🚨 Emergency Family Support
Emergency Family Support is being developed to provide limited assistance to local families facing urgent financial hardship with critical needs such as utilities, rent shortages and other essential household expenses.
Our goal is to assist families who have exhausted other available resources, do not qualify for traditional assistance programs, have been denied assistance, or are facing an urgent need that cannot be met through other available resources.
All requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and the need is verified before assistance is provided. When assistance is approved, BWWFK makes payment directly to the landlord, utility company, service provider, or other appropriate source rather than providing funds directly to the applicant.
Assistance is subject to available funding and BWWFK's ability to assist at the time. We are currently working to build sustainable funding and community support so this program can become a stronger resource for local families facing unexpected financial emergencies.