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Cantonment Church Helping Haiti One Bucket At A Time

A Cantonment church is spearheading a countywide project that will provide hope to the families of Haiti, one white 5-gallon bucket of food at a time.

It’s called “Buckets of Hope”, a program of the Florida Baptist Convention’s Florida Disaster Relief program. The concept is simple — fill a clean 5-gallon bucket with beans, rice, sugar, flour, cooking oil and other essentials. It’s enough to feed a family of four for about a week, plus they have the bucket to reuse to haul water, store food items or even move rubble in the earthquake stricken land.

For less than $30, the bucket and food items can be purchased, according to Drayton Smith, associate pastor at the First Baptist Church of Cantonment.

“This is something anyone can do and know they are helping a family in Haiti,” Smith said. He hopes that other churches, schools, business and community groups will become involved in the bucket program.

You don’t have to be a Christian to be involved in this,” said Ronnie Gilmore, a First Baptist Church member. “You just have to have a caring heart.”

Florida Baptists are committed to helping Haiti in both the short and long term, Smith said, with help provided in over 800 locations across the country.

As Region 1 chaplain coordinator for Florida Disaster Relief, Smith learned of the program at a training session recently in Orlando. When he learned of the Buckets of Hope program, he knew he was ready to become involved.

“The Bible tells us to do that and help others,” he said. “We have a passion for the world, and we love people. We just want to share the love.”

The filled Buckets of Hope must be returned to the First Baptist Church of Cantonment by March 15. They are also being collected at Gilmore Services at 31 East Fairfield Drive in Pensacola.

Smith said financial donations, or donations of any of the bucket items, can also be given in lieu of a full bucket. He said 100 percent of material and financial donations go straight to Haiti; none of the money is use for administration or other fees. Florida Disaster Relief does ask that persons donating buckets also donate $10, if possible, to offset the cost of shipping the bucket to Haiti.

Every bucket must be exactly alike with a specific list of items inside. Detailed instructions must be followed exactly to ensure that every bucket quickly passes through customs and into the hands of the Haitian people.

For a complete list of food items and instructions on how to pack the bucket, click here (pdf).

Pictured top: First Baptist Church of Cantonment Associate Pastor Drayton Smith explains the Buckets of Hope program Tuesday morning. Pictured inset: Church members Barbara Reynolds explains how to pack a Bucket of Hope. Pictured below: The bucket and food items can be purchased for less than $30. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.