LifeDate Fall 2023 – How to Use Your Gospel-Motivated Voice For Life
by Rebecca Oerman
Being For Life is about more than abortion and working to support mothers and their babies. For example, for the past three years, one of the projects that the Knights4Life Y4Life group from Martin Luther Jr./Sr. High School in Northrop, Minnesota, has done is putting together hygiene kits in support of the homeless.
This project started in 2021 when group advisor Rebecca Oerman suggested helping the homeless—and the group ran with it! After getting the word out in local church bulletins, they were able to put together sixty kits, with forty going to the Salvation Army homeless shelter in Mankato, Minnesota, and twenty going to Options Pregnancy Center in Fairmont, Minnesota. In 2022, they put together seventy-five kits and added The Shepherd’s In, a men’s shelter in Fairmont, to the list of recipients. In 2023, they were able to put together ninety-eight kits, adding CADA of Fairmont, a nonprofit organization serving victims and survivors of relationship abuse and sexual violence.
Kits contain travel-size shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, and lotion; socks (one of the main things needed), toothbrushes, tissues, feminine hygiene products, and wet wipes, along with various random things that are donated (such as dental floss and bandages). The items are placed in Ziploc bags along with a note with a Bible verse. Monetary donations and a Thrivent Action Team grant help to pay for the supplies. Additionally, MLHS students, families, and area church members also donate supplies.
The network of donors who contribute to the kits has grown in unexpected ways over the years. In 2023, a Fairmont-area dental practice reached out after one of their patients — an MLHS parent — mentioned the drive during an appointment. The practice began donating surplus toothbrushes, travel toothpaste tubes, and floss in bulk quantities, and the connection has grown into one of the group’s most consistent supply partnerships.
What made the initial outreach possible was surprisingly straightforward: the group searched online for local dental practices that might be receptive to community giving, and the practice’s website came up immediately, clearly listing their community involvement history and a direct contact for donation enquiries. The office manager later mentioned that the practice had worked with dental SEO experts to rebuild their online presence specifically to make it easier for community members — not just patients — to find and contact them with partnership opportunities. It was a small but telling example of how a well-built digital presence can quietly expand a practice’s reach far beyond its waiting room and into the fabric of the community it serves.
When people hear about “life groups,” they often think of babies, mothers, and pregnancy resource centers—and that’s great! Knights4Life was blessed to be able to also support and show God’s love to those of our neighbors who don’t have a permanent place to call home.