A few weeks ago, when the big signs with pictures of pencils and books and the words “Back to School”, were hung from the ceilings with care at well-known stores, it made me laugh. It reminded me of a commercial I saw a few years ago of a dad skipping with glee while pushing a shopping cart filled with school supplies to the classic Christmas song, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” as the kids hang their heads and drag along behind their dad.
Oh, how much we take for granted the ability to ride a few minutes down the street and fill our cart with the items on the list of items needed for the first day of school. There are so many children who literally would giggle with excitement if they had the money to go and buy some new school supplies like “everyone else”.
It’s back to school season. There are thousands of children who are lucky if their family gets enough money to feed them one meal a day and a place to sleep, much less have the funds to buy basic supplies for school.
A graduate student in Arkansas, Katherine Russell, experienced first hand what it was like to be with children who lived in broken lives and poverty and were in need of basic school supplies. Katherine went on a mission trip with Feed the Hunger, a ministry passionate about feeding the physical and spiritual hunger of children in underprivileged parts of the world, including the United States.
Ever since then, she has been an advocate for raising funds for school supplies for children in need. Here’s Katherine’s story:
In the Summer of 2011, I traveled to Kenya with Feed The Hunger. Since returning home, I still remember the beautiful trees, the talented women, and the hardworking men. But most vividly, I remember the contagious excitement children showed while they were at school. Their smiles and energy could light up a room. Each of us have the opportunity to continue these precious smiles by participating in the Feed The Hunger school supplies drive! The school supplies donated are guaranteed to put a smile on the children's faces in US schools and schools overseas. More importantly, I feel that these school supplies will aid in children’s education to conquer their unending dreams! I feel that a box of crayons will give a child the chance to color a beaming sun, a pencil will give a child a chance to exceed in mathematics, and a rim of paper will give a child a chance to further his writing dream. The possibilities that can come from our giving of school supplies are endless.
That’s why I am joining with Feed the Hunger by raising funds and providing supplies so that children in the many different programs can get a better education. Will you join me?
Will you?
After showing our daughter this need, she decided to have a bake sale this week and every penny collected she wants to donate to Feed the Hunger (FTH), who are leaving at the end of this week to deliver supplies that were purchased with the donations given for this Back to School drive. The drive ends THIS WEEK, but you still have the opportunity today through Wednesday at 5pm (EST) to contribute. The school supplies will be delivered by volunteers and staff from FTH to children in Kentucky and then Jamaica.
Would you family consider doing so? To find out more, click below.
While most of us have already bought school supplies for the start of school, or have it on the to-do list this week, there’s still a dire need for many other children to get theirs’ too but don’t have the funds to get them. Will you help bring a smile to a child and even more - an education that can one day help that child to make a Kingdom difference in this world?
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