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Apache Junction group making "bags of love" for children they'll never meet

Posted at 12:56 PM, Oct 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-25 15:56:17-04

Janice Krein has a knack for sewing. She's been doing it for more than 60 years. Today, she's at the Apache Junction Seventh Day Adventist Church.

She meets this group of ladies every Monday. They're all taking their own time to make "bags of love" for children they will never see and never be able to meet.

"It's a need that just breaks your heart when you realize just what these children are having to go through," said Leona Kuhn, a volunteer at the church. 

The kids are in situations that are so unsafe they are often abruptly taken from their homes. 

They're often abused and neglected. It's so bad the Arizona Department of Child Safety steps in.

"They don't have time to pack a bag," said Rayetta Sanchez with DCS. 

"They don't have time to get their stuff, their pajamas and their stuffed animals and their books and their personal things."

That's where these ladies come in, making homemade bags filled with a homemade blanket, stuffed animals, personal items and a signed note from every single volunteer.

They will never know who opened the bag, but the ladies hope the child will never doubt how much they're loved. "It's one thing when somebody says, 'Oh - I want the best for you,'" said Leslie Reprogle with the Agape Adoption Agency of Arizona.

"It's another thing when somebody says, 'You're cold right now? Here's a blanket.'" Agape also uses the bags of love to hand out to children who come through their agency.

So far the ladies have made and packaged more than 2,000 love bags, and they're not stopping because love really does have no limits.

The church is located at 1650 S. Ironwood Drive, Apache Junction, AZ. Their phone number is