Kids are so amazing. We just received a check for $4,500 from the 30-member youth group at Chenal Valley Church in Little Rock, AR. The letter below tells how and why this donation was sent. But the reasons are deeper than the letter states. Their Facebook page provides some great resources, including these verses about why we give.
Zechariah 7:9-10, James 1:27,
2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 1 Timothy 6:17
I encourage you to look them up, but here are a few from the 2 Corinthians passage:
At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” – 2 Corinthians 8:14-15
Here is the letter from their youth group:
Dear World Concern,
In December, our youth group created and participated in something we called the One Gift Campaign. We challenged kids to help those in need by asking their parents to scratch one gift off their Christmas list and donate that money to the One Gift Campaign instead. We had several donors offer to match their donations, so everything the kids gave was matched at an 8:1 ratio, up to $500. They hit their target goal, so we are happy to be able to send you a check for $4,500. Not bad for a youth group of 30!
One of the cool things about the One Gift Campaign is that after the money was raised, the kids were the ones who got to decide how it would be allocated. I pointed them toward your website, had them research the different ways they could give through World Concern.org, and then let them decide where the money would go.
I send you this check with the request that you follow their divisions as closely as possible. Thanks for all you are doing to meet the enormous needs in our hurting world. They asked that the money be divided in the following way:
$600 latrines
$500 barnyards
$1,000 toward machine dug wells
$795 five health packages
$720 children sent to school
$500 shares of a village school
$300 desks
$85 parasite medication (44-Cent Cure)
In Him,
Aaron Kirkpatrick, Youth and Family Minister
