BLACKFOOT — Bless Blackfoot has gained such traction during its two years in action that its latest Community Blessings Day, the seventh since late 2023, will be its first as an official non-profit.

“We met last June to make it official and last fall we filed the paperwork,” said Melissa Helton, president of Bless Blackfoot. “In January, we received our 501c3 status.”

Everyone is invited to Community Blessings Day this Saturday at the Moreland Building, located at 175 N 740 W in Blackfoot from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The idea for Bless Blackfoot has been on the minds of Bless Blackfoot founders since the church they attend attempted something similar. But it was in 2023 when Melissa and Amber Heer, two of Bless Blackfoot’s co-founders, decided to take action when they continued to get offers of donations for another project they were involved with that no longer needed them.

“Amber and I ran a home school co-op and we would run a yard sale as a fundraiser,” Helton said. “We closed our co-op but we still had people asking us if we needed donations.”

Bless Blackfoot takes donations from anyone willing to give. The items that get donated pretty much look like what you might find at a thrift store, and includes clothing, housewares, tools, toys, games, and much more. Once they have collected enough items, they host a Community Blessings Day and anyone in need is welcome to come and take what they need for free.

They hosted the first Community Blessings Day at their church in December of 2023 and were impressed by the participation they saw from both those who donated and those who received the items.

“We filled that church and we had so many people come,” Helton said. “It really surprised us and we realized it was something we might need to keep doing.”

But they weren’t sure initially if it would be sustainable so they just took it event by event for the first 18 months. That’s because roughly 20 years ago their church attempted something similar to the Community Blessings Day, but it didn’t end up being sustainable.

“A lot of people wanted to donate but not many were picking things up,” Helton said.

Things went a bit different for Bless Blackfoot, however.

“Each time we had a Community Blessings Day, we were surprised by how many people were able to donate and how many came to get things,” she said. “Each time it grows and grows, and we realized we were gaining momentum.”

At this point, there are typically 100 to 150 people waiting for the doors to open during their giveaway event.

This Saturday’s Community Blessings Day will be Bless Blackfoot’s first as a non-profit and Helton says the new status opens some opportunities for them. They have only been able to accept physical donations and any costs have pretty much been out of pocket for the trio running Bless Blackfoot. As a 501c3, they will now be able to accept monetary donations and apply for other funds that can help. Helton said their hope is to centralize everything under one roof and make it easier for folks to get items they might need in between their massive Community Blessings Day events.

“We need something more than just a storage unit,” Helton said.

They currently have a 10-foot-by-20-foot storage space that by the time they are ready for an event is packed from floor to ceiling and front to back. As an event approaches, such as this Saturday, the storage unit is at capacity and additional donations are stashed all around town.

“By the time we do something, our cars are all full of stuff, our garages have stuff, even my enclosed trailer is full of stuff,” Helton said.

The need is clearly there. She said it typically takes several hours to set up for a Community Blessings Day but the clean up afterward can be as quick as 20 minutes because so little is left behind.

Helton said they have plenty of donations for the upcoming event but what they really need are volunteers, especially for setting up the event, which is done on Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those wishing to volunteer this Saturday or donate for future events can reach Bless Blackfoot at 208-684-0225.