Blessing Box

posted on March 16

A ribbon cutting was held Wednesday for a new Blessing Box near the Morehead United Methodist Church.

Michael Koenig, a University of Kentucky third year medical student and member of the Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP) met Wanda Fultz, founder of Gateway Helping Hands, last spring and was inspired by her dedication and commitment to helping the underserved especially her passion for ministering to the hungry.

Fultz mentioned her dream of having a Blessing Box in the Morehead community.

Blessing Boxes have popped up in many places in the United States to provide food and other necessities in a free-standing unit that is always open.

Koenig was moving to Morehead to begin his third and fourth year clinical clerkships at St. Claire Medical Center along with the other members of the RPLP program and knew he and his fellow medical students wanted to give back to the community they would be part of for the next two years.

Koenig wanted to help bring Wanda’s and Gateway Helping Hand’s dream of having a community Blessing Box to fruition. He worked with the generous and community minded members at the methodist church to secure a spot for the Blessing Box on their property which they approved for the far left hand corner of their parking lot near the intersection of Sun and Church streets.

Michael and Wanda desired a Blessing Box that was beautiful, inviting and weather-proof. Michael turned to Elmer Brandenburger and his son Stephen Brandenburger, both of Logan Run Woodworks in Flemingsburg, who lovingly and carefully handcrafted a beautiful box and who donated part of their time to building it.

It was installed on Monday, March 12, and Elmer and Stephen put the first items in the Blessing Box after they finished installing it. Michael’s and Wanda’s greatest hope and vision is for the community to embrace this Blessing Box as its own both sharing what they are able and in using the contents of the Blessing Box for those who need it.

Anyone can put food or personal items in the box at any time. Some ideas would be canned goods, macaroni and cheese, pasta, breakfast bars, fruit cups, juice boxes, vienna sausages.

For questions contact Fultz at 780-9704.