When Ava-Rochelle Woodard rides through Kansas City with her parents, the 6-year-old pays attention. She notices people walking along the road, and when Ava sees someone who might need help, she asks a question that has grown into a community effort.
“Do we have a bag in the car?” asks Ava, founder of Today’s Your Blessing.
That instinct sparked a project launched this fall by the Kansas City second-grader to provide people experiencing homelessness with bags filled with practical, everyday essentials. What started as a small family routine has grown into a grassroots effort centered on action and community care.
“A blessing bag is a bag full of hygiene products and stuff that you would use in your daily life, and they give them to people in need,” Ava said.
Each bag is assembled with care. Ava helps select and pack the items, focusing on things people can immediately use.
“There’s water, electrolyte mix, snacks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, lotion, lip balm, deodorant, a comb, shampoo, ponchos, socks, first-aid kits and wipes,” she said. “For winter items, there are hand warmers, blankets, gloves, extra socks and shelter supplies.”
Family routine to community project
Before Today’s Your Blessing had a name, Ava and her mother, Toni Woodard, were already putting these care kits together. After about a month, Ava decided the effort could be something more.
“Me and my mom used to make them, and then I was like, 'I should make an organization out of this,'” Ava said.
A conversation with her father, Rodney Woodard, helped shape the idea.
“One morning, my dad asked me, ‘Everyone’s doing a nonprofit, what’s your nonprofit going to be?’” Ava recalled. “I said it could be handing out blessings, and then I came up with blessing bags.”
Rodney said the transition felt natural.
“It was something she was always passionate about,” he said. “It’s something that her mom and her had done for a while.”
Meeting people where they are
Blessing bags are distributed across Kansas City, often handed directly to people in need while driving or walking through the city. There’s no fixed schedule or location.
“You just give them out your window to people in need or anyone walking or on the side of the road,” Ava said.
The family also shares bags with others to help expand reach.
“It’s really a community effort,” Rodney said. “If we make them and give them to other people, they can also help the people they see.”
Since launching in early October, the project has distributed 63 bags. Reactions are simple but meaningful — often just a thank you, but they leave a lasting impression, Ava said.
“I feel happy,” she added.
Next steps include adding resource information to the bags to help people connect with shelters, services and transportation options already available in Kansas City.
Ava has also set a clear goal to make 150 by the end of the year, she said. People interested in supporting or following the effort can connect through the project’s digital contact card at https://hihello.com/hi/todaysyourblessing.
Ava’s mother said the project reflects values already instilled in her daughter.
“Ava’s always been really driven,” she said. “Seeing her want to help others and inspire other people to help is really cool.”
This story was first published by Startland News, a fellow member of the Kansas City Media Collective.
