Making A Difference At Year’s End
The end of the year is a popular time to make charitable donations. For some it’s a last chance to give before the tax year closes. Others find themselves in a Christmas kind of spirit and share that by giving. And others are just procrastinators. ☺
Whatever the reason(s), it’s a critical and crazy time for charitable groups hoping to meet end-of-the-year goals. Two weeks ago I shared some of our family’s favorite charitable causes and you can certainly return to that post to find more information about them. Toward helping those interested in making end of the year gifts, I thought I’d share three more of my favorites, each focused particularly on helping children.
The first is the International Children’s Fund, a remarkably effective group working to save the lives of children through their relationships with missionaries and other Christian relief networks. They produced the video of the “Lost Choir” that I’ve posted below that reminds us profoundly and palpably that we lose one of the world’s children every three seconds. I found this performance simultaneously beautiful and tragic and it inspired me once again to want to make a difference.
A second group is native to Minnesota and it’s called Feed My Starving Children, another Christian ministry that invites schools and religious groups from all over the greater Twin Cities region to come help pack simple, nutritious meals for families in the poorest parts of the world. In a couple of hours a decent sized group can prepare literally thousands of meals, and over the course of a year this organization feeds hundreds of thousands of people in the name of Jesus. You can find more information, schedule times to volunteer, or make a donation at their website.
Nothing But Nets, the third organization I want to highlight, was kick-started by Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilley’s challenge to his readers to donate just $10 to send a mosquito net to communities in malaria-stricken Africa and in this way save a life. It’s been embraced by both sporting groups and a collection of religious communities and continues to make an important impact in defeating malaria as they have bought and sent more than 7 million nets thus far.
Please keep all these good folks and causes in your prayers. And blessings to you and yours as we come to the end of another “year of our Lord” and pray that next year fewer children will die to preventable violence, hunger, or disease.
Note: If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch the video.
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