BROOKINGS – Brookings children will stream into school hallways Tuesday, Aug. 22, bringing in with them the chaos of a new school year. But behind the helter-skelter of the wave of students are teams of hard-working school staff who Bethel Baptist congregants want to make sure to thank for their work.

For three years now, Bethel Baptist has assembled gift bags that they deliver to a designated school just before the start of the school year. This year, volunteers made gift bags for Camelot staff. The first year they did this, it was for Brookings High School, and last year, it was for Mickelson Middle School.

The goal is to make about 75 gift bags, one for everyone who works in at Camelot, not just the teachers. That way, everybody who plays a role in keeping the school functioning as well as it can is recognized and shown appreciation.

Volunteers can place nearly anything they’d like into the bags, with keeping the contents’ value to about $15 the only guideline. Some typical items included are snacks and gift cards.

The idea to do this came about soon after Pastor Josh Robertson began serving at Bethel Baptist.

“We began thinking and praying about ways to do good in our community. … We thought about schools and what could be a way we partner with schools, and we decided on providing a gift bag for all the staff at a given school at the start of the school year,” Robertson said.

That first year, they made the packages and put the staff members’ names on them, which they no longer do.

“We realized that made a lot of work for the administration to get them delivered when we delivered them to the school,” he said.

Instead, when it’s time to start working on the gift bags, slips of paper with an apple printed on it are set out, one slip representing one staff member. That way, they know they’ve made the right amount.

“We also have a card that we ask everyone to put in there that’s a thank-you to the staff for what they do to make Brookings a better place to live and how they impact our students in the community,” Robertson said.

Three weeks before the deadline to have the bags turned in, the church begins to put out word about the ministry program with a video promo, church announcement, social media postings and emails.

“Every year it gets a little easier because the majority of the congregation … is aware of it... People have begun to know to expect it and jump right in,” he said.

They will bring the gift bags over to Camelot Monday morning.

And in the past, they have gotten thank-you cards in return, some from staff members who aren’t used to being appreciated as much as teachers can be.

“It’s also fun hearing feedback from the teachers who go to Bethel who are in the school a given year where the bags are distributed to, hearing their interactions. They get a lot of personal thank-yous from the people that know that they attend this church.”

Doing this is important to the church, Robertson said, for several reasons.

One is it’s a small, tangible and practical way to demonstrate Christ’s love in the community.

Another “is a firm belief that the church is made up of the people of God and a firm belief that the people of God ought to make the places they live better,” he said. “I think one of the ways we do that is by appreciating and saying thanks to the people who make things happen in Brookings and make Brookings a good place to live.”

Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.