This year, my friend, Lindsay, and I signed our daughters up for something called Wild Explorers Club. It’s a program that provides weekly assignments, and as kids progress through it, they earn badges. We wanted to have our girls go through the levels together. The badge we’re currently working through is the Elk badge. The first assignment was to “sell something and donate the money.” There weren’t any other parameters. Lindsay and her family became sponsors at Ongongoja CarePoint almost from the beginning. They chose to sponsor Sarah, and as a family they have written to her, prayed for her and her family, and loved her dearly. So when the question of where to donate came up, Ongongoja was an easy answer. Lindsay’s daughter, Ansley, decided she would make and sell string art to raise money for the CarePoint.
Ansley’s first goal was to get $200 in order to buy something to help the CarePoint get water. One set of her grandparents promised her a match up to $100, so she got to work. Many orders started coming in once Lindsay posted about it on Instagram, and she quickly got to the initial $100. But people kept asking for her to make them something, and she chose to keep going, hoping to raise $400 total. Her other set of grandparents also promised a match of $100. This week, Ansley finished her last order, and her total earnings for over thirty pieces, including her matches, is an amazing $425!
Once the money was all collected, Ongongoja no longer needed help with water, so Ansley was given a few other choices about where she could put her hard-earned money. Her mother let her choose, and she decided to sponsor another child! The money Ansley raised is enough to sponsor a child for an entire year. Here’s what Ansley has to say about it:
Our family loves partnering with HopeChest because the model goes beyond sponsorship. With Children’s HopeChest, sponsorship is the foundation to not just helping an individual child, but providing hope for a whole community. And, it provides for both the physical and spiritual needs. Each child will receive a daily meal, access to clean water, medical care, and educational support, and each child will hear the gospel and see the gospel lived out by HopeChest local staff. It’s amazing to see transformation happen, and kids overseas aren’t the only ones impacted by this Community-to-Community model. Our kids here at home are, too.
There are many ways you can help, like Ansley did. Brainstorm as a family, let the kids get involved! Maybe you could have a big garage sale, invite other families to participate, and donate the proceeds. You could host a bake sale or lemonade stand. Ansley did string art, and there are many other simple art projects your kids can do, and sell, to raise money. Your child could ask for donations instead of birthday or Christmas presents. Get creative, have fun, and work together. There’s so much you can do!
