BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WDTN) — One small local church is on a mission to show love to its neighbors.

They want to make sure those neighbors always have a place to go if they need help putting food on the table.

It may not be large, but St. Paul Lutheran Church on Dog Leg Road in Butler Township is doing some mighty work.

“We’re a very small church,” said church member Barbara Miller. “But we do a lot of things together. We enjoy being a part of the community and doing whatever we can to help the people in the neighborhood.”

When the members of St. Paul found out that a fundraiser for the Vandalia-Butler Food Pantry last year came up short, they decided to try and bridge the gap.

“We also know that the pantry not only needs food but also needs money to do what they do,” said Pastor Kurt Lammi.

So, the church is auctioning or raffling off 70 gift baskets. They’re packed full of everything from movie nights, to sports trips, to spa bundles.

“This is the first time we’re holding this auction but we’re having a great response to it,” Lammi said.

That response is coming from both within the church and from the community.

In addition to donations from church members, nearly two dozen local businesses pitched in to help.

“It’s really been exciting because to see the businesses in the community support it,” Miller said. “If they couldn’t give gifts — or couldn’t give something that belonged to their business itself — they would donate the money.”

All the money raised will go to the pantry and an adopt-a-family ministry at St. Paul.

They say doing projects like this is part of who they are and what they believe.

“We think that this gift basket fundraiser is a great way of sharing our mission of loving God and loving neighbor,” Lammi said.

If you’d like to participate in the raffle, just show up at the church on Dog Leg Road this coming Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets will be one for $2, three for $5, or 13 for $20.

The auction is underway now. You can bid on those baskets by clicking here.

Between the raffle and the auction, there are between $8,500 and $10,000 of items to win.

All proceeds will support the Vandalia-Butler Food Pantry and the St. Paul adopt-a-family ministry.