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Buckets of Thanks

A man and a woman walk away from a building caring bags and five gallon buckets

Give buckets full of hope

What is Buckets of Thanks?

 

A woman* in a village recovered from Russian military control in Ukraine's Kherson region received an MCC relief kit from MCC partner Charitable Foundation Uman Help Center (Uman Help Center).

Buckets of Thanks is a way to express your gratitude at thanksgiving by paying it forward with generosity.

Each Bucket of Thanks (also known as a relief kit or relief bucket) is a five-gallon pail that’s filled with essential hygiene items and sent to people and families in need around the world.

To show your gratitude and help give hope to others this Thanksgiving, you can:

  1. Pack a relief bucket and drop it off at your local MCC kit drop-off location. Contact your local MCC office to find out where you can pick up relief kit buckets to fill with supplies.
     
  2. Sponsor a bucket for just $58 and cover the cost of supplies needed for a bucket. You can honor someone you love by sponsoring a bucket in their name with a printable Thanksgiving card. 
     
  3. Gather and drop off some or all of the supplies that go in a relief bucket at your local MCC kit drop-off location. Every item helps!

Help us meet our goal of donating 2,000 relief kits before October 31, and give buckets full of hope to those who need it the most. If you can’t get your buckets in this month, don’t worry — donations of relief kits are also accepted throughout the year.

A boy in a ball cap stands behind a five-gallon bucket packed with supplies

Make relief buckets with children of all ages

Want to make relief buckets with the children in your world? Written for Sunday schools, classrooms and families, Kits are for Caring is a ready-to-use curriculum with everything you need to guide a group of children toward sharing God's gifts by helping people around the world.

Sign up to receive this helpful tool!
More stories

Stories of buckets around the world

Every year, people just like you are meeting the needs of the most vulnerable by providing relief kits. Read some of their stories here.

Frequently asked questions

Last year, generous people like you sent 32,285 relief kits to Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Malawi, Syria, Ukraine and Zambia.

A relief bucket includes:
 

  • 4 large bars of bath soap 
  • Shampoo 
  • 4 large bars of laundry soap 
  • 4 adult-sized toothbrushes 
  • 4 new bath towels 
  • 2 wide-toothed combs 
  • 1 nail clipper
  • 1 box of adhesive bandages 
  • Sanitary pads

Items we cannot accept include:

  • Face towels/cloths
  • Hotel/mini bar soap
  • Full nail care kits or nail files
  • Hair conditioner
  • Panty liners
  • Personal notes or family photos
  • Child size/small toothbrushes
  • Men’s pocket combs
  • Travel size toothpaste
  • Powdered laundry detergent

Read the full list of item requirements and assembly instructions
 

You can drop off completed buckets or the supplies you've gathered for a bucket at your local MCC kit drop-off location throughout the month of October to be counted towards our 2,000 bucket goal. (But don't worry if you can't make it by the end of October, we gratefully accept relief kits all year round.)

Yes! Sign up to receive MCC’s Kits are for Caring resource. It’s full of ways you can teach your family about relief kits.

You can also watch this video ahead of time to get your family excited about Buckets of Thanks and tell them why you want to take part.

Yes! Watch this helpful video with your family.

Got a busy schedule? If you can’t make a relief kit yourself, consider donating to cover the cost of supplies needed for a bucket. You can also choose to sponsor a bucket in honor of someone you love.

Sponsor a bucket today

Sponsor a relief bucket

Your donation of $58 will help fill one bucket full of hope for people in need.