Kids from three years old to 16 banded together resources and elbow grease to create 1,500 “Blessing bags” for the homeless across the Eastside.

The local kids, 150 of them, gathered at the Old Redmond School House on June 20, filling bags with water, food, socks and other important items, including hand-written, uplifting notes from the kids.

The event’s organizer, Amy Walton of Kirkland, said the event exploded from her initial idea of 20 kids in a living room.

“We put a post out on Facebook and got 70 responses,” Walton said.

Part of the sign up was an agreement to help stockpiling the things the group would need. The MoreLove Project, a charity aimed at serving the homeless in the Seattle area, provided the framework and helped the kids in attendance get an understanding of what blessing bags are all about.

It boils down to an effort to see homeless differently, using the blessing bags as a teaching moment.

“People dropped off donations beforehand,” Walton said. “Out of pocket, we only used $200 from [MoreLove Project.] It was quite amazing to see the community jump in and help.”

The kids got to take bags home with them, some choosing to keep bags in the car for easier access in a time of need.