My name is Melinda Wilson and I am a web developer in the Communications area of the Woodruff school. I have worked at Tech for 36 years in a wide range of roles but Tech has always been a part of my life. My father worked in facilities for more than 27 years and I spent many Saturdays coming to campus with him to check out the old Textile building, Skiles, or the Library.

I believe the most wonderful thing a person can do is give themselves to others. One of the ways for me to do that is to participate in the Angel Bag Project with SOAR Ministries. I cannot imagine a Christmas without being a part of this project. Angel Bags has grown so much since 2001 that it is now a year round project. Local women make 11x17 cinch bags year round which are filled with basic school supplies, toothpaste, a toothbrush and a variety of small toys that vary depending on the age and gender of the children.

Individuals generally start collecting items for the bags in January and then it gets into full swing in September. That’s when organizations, individuals, and churches start asking for bags, and collecting them all the way through November. Each bag is brought to a central location and is not only filled by loving hands but are also checked by loving hands. That’s my role, so if you want to find me during the month of November and early December, come to the Angel Bag room where I will be helping check the incoming bags.

Around December 10th each year I join a team of people as we begin our long journey to drive the bags to central Mexico. This year we had three vehicles pulling three trailers filled with about 1908 bags (some filled by Woodruff School staff) and boxes of schools supplies and other gifts for the children. We drove straight through changing drivers frequently. We left my church parking lot in Stone Mountain at 5:00 pm Dec. 10th and arrived Eagle Pass, TX at 12:30 pm. We waited at the border for three days before finally being given the approval to cross with our "stuff".

Upon entering Mexico we drove 12 hours south of the border in the state of Zacatecas and began our distribution at our first location, a small church in the middle of a very bad corn field. During our time in Mexico we had 19 distribution locations and left Angel Bags behind to be distributed at five other locations we did not have time for. The last church was located back at the border in the city of Piedras Negras. The minister there used what was left to distribute to five more locations and donated all of the baby items to local hospitals to be given to the new mothers and babies who needed them.

Our long journey home included many check points, two flat tires and rain all the way from the Mexico/US border to Georgia but the things I will remember about this year's Angel Bag Project are the smiles and hugs from the children as they received their bags.

Angel Bags also makes regular trips to Haiti and supports the New Hope Haiti Mission Orphanage and conducts vacation Bible school in the remote village of Balan. We always need help whether it is going with us to Haiti or Mexico, collecting items for the gift bags or actually filling bags. I am very proud that five staff members of the Woodruff School took on the mission of filling bags for 6 orphans at New Hope Haiti Mission.