Inspirational Stories - Giving Back
This page was inspired while watching a news channel that tells stories about helping others. I am not a news fan but like to watch a morning channel to give me weather updates and some other information. It doesn't seem to lean heavily to one side or the other so I can get the human interest stories and my weather when I am getting ready for work in the morning. Anyway, I hope to share some of those stories and others I come across on a daily basis. Enjoy and have a great day!
Recently I went to a local craft show and I came across a couple who are a part of a mission group that is raising money to go to the Dominican Republic and to a very impoverished area with unemployment at 70% or higher and as high as 85% in some of the more rural villages. They will be teaching them how to make bracelets they can sell. They were making these bracelets to raise money and also demonstrate what they will be teaching the villagers and to have money to pay for material for the bracelets. These bracelets are made from recycled paper and beads from the way I understood it. They shared with me that if they sell one bracelet, it will buy enough rice for a family for a week. Here is a link to the Village Mountain Mission Project. You can visit this website to find out more on the mission trips and opportunities to support those individuals. This story may not reach many but it is something that touched my heart.
Lifewise . . .
Lifewise Academy provides a solid Biblical foundation for our young people. I hope you will support those amazing organization. Lifewise Academy
Lettum Eat!
Using his gifts to bless others is what Chef Hank Reid is doing in Georgia. He has started a non-profit called LETTUM EAT and he hopes to remove the stigma around those who need help with food by feeding those through a restaurant style outreach. Allowing people to come eat in a comfortable setting. He purchased three trailers, I believe through donations, and is renovating them and hopes to put a deck around them. He wants to provide a comfortable eating place and remove the stigma that it has gotten. You can read more about this ministry by going to their website: https://lettumeat.com/
Giving . . .
Today I have been thinking about giving, giving back and where I fall in this realm. Of course, giving to church sometimes and sometimes not. Donating for Operation Christmas Child occasionally, donating to school sales or events are just a few things I’ve done but what is my passion and am I giving selflessly or just when I feel like it. As I was reading some stories about giving it has become heavy on my heart and an area of focus for me. I started thinking about the missions that our local church is a part of and was just curious about Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan’s Purse was actually started in 1970 by a pastor in North Carolina. In 1973 Franklin Graham did some work with the pastor (Robert Pierce) and visited some countries on relief projects. Franklin Graham became president of Samaritan’s purse in 1979 after Pierce’s death. It wasn’t until 1993, I believe, that Operation Christmas Child was born as a result of a call Graham received from a gentleman in England who was calling on behalf of many children in Bosnia who were suffering due to the effects of a Civil War. So if you were wondering how it all got started, that is it in a nutshell. You can go to the Operation Christmas Child website to learn more about this organization and how you can help.
"Ohio Veterans Home "
This inspirational story once again I found on my Spectrum news channel and it touched my heart. As children who were orphaned due to various circumstances and parents had been a veteran. It was started as a result of children who had lost their father but eventually opened up to all children of veterans who were orphaned. Although the actual home was closed in the 1990s it was home to almost 14,000 children whose parents served in the military. They were allowed to stay in the home until the age of 18. Today, children of those veterans like to stay in contact with a Christmas dinner, a summer reunion and special services on memorial day. The stories that came out of this children’s home in Xenia, Ohio which was established in 1869 are inspirational. Currently this organization is referred to as the Association of Ex-Pupils. Without people caring about others we would not have organizations like this.
"The Giving Doll"
As an advisor to an organization at the high school level, I try to encourage students to give back, to help others in the community and the school. We have a food pantry, a clothing closet, take home meals and snacks the students can grab and grow which are all private donations and grants and students who give of their time to give back by packing and preparing the grab and go food and pantry. As I continue to work with young people, encouraging community service and giving back is important in our mission. Here is a story that I watched on Spectrum 1. A true story of kindness and generosity by not only the founder but all the volunteers. I hope you are inspired
In 2006, Jan, a resident of Norton, Ohio and a retired school teacher started giving back. A friend’s daughter became terminally ill. Her mission was to give her something she could hold on to. The sweetness that this one doll and a big heart generated has now spanned 12 states and has given 68,000 children nationwide. “The Giving Doll” has comforted so many children and is all run through donations and volunteers. Wow! You can visit their web page or FB page to learn more about this amazing program. It is definitely heart-warming.
"Cornerstone of Hope"
Grief is a real life issue for all of us at some point and I myself have experienced it recently which is why I was touched by an organization that a couple started several years ago. Cornerstone of Hope is an organization that supports those who are struggling. I saw this couple on a news show, a couple who unexpectedly had a loss of their three year old to meningitis. It happened so quickly, they went to the hospital expecting to be back that same night but instead they came back the next night without him. Cornerstone of Hope was born out of the grief that this couple experienced and struggled to get through. This organization now has three locations: Columbus, Lima, Cleveland. Visit their website to find out more about this organization for those going through grief and guided by Christian valleys. They have dedicated and supportive professionals that is a nonprofit bereavement center for people of all ages struggling with the loss of a loved one.