Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Help for Haiti

I was excited to read about the Help for Haiti Drive that Crystal at Money Saving Mom has put together! To be honest, we don’t watch or listen to very much news, so I really hadn’t heard much about the Haiti earthquake, other than a brief bit when I turned on the radio in the car last Wednesday. Since then, though, I’ve read more online and seen some of the pictures . . . and it’s heartbreaking to think about so many people who have lost what little they had, and so many others who have lost their lives. Last week I was thinking about what I might be able to do to help, even if it was only something tiny. God brought to mind a small jar of change that I had just found a few days ago--I think it was money I had set aside for tithing, back when I used to teach piano lessons, and had forgotten about. Anyway, I counted the change and it was only $5.40, which doesn’t seem like much, but I realized that if I donated it to Numana, it will provide meals for 18 people. Then I realized that this gave me the perfect opportunity to share a need with the kids and give them the opportunity to help, too. I got out the world map, showed them Haiti, and explained about the earthquake and the people who needed help. I asked if they would like to raid their piggy banks for some change to donate . . . and between us we ended up with a total of about $7.50, which will provide a meal for 25 people. And I know that’s only a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of people who are suffering and needy . . . but it’s a tiny something that we can do to make a difference in the lives of those 25. Perhaps soon we’ll be able to help a little more in some way.

I would love, over time, to be able to open our kids’ eyes to the needs of the world and to help them realize how blessed we truly are. Someday I would love to sponsor a child through Compassion, support a missionary as a family, and donate shoeboxes to Operation Christmas Child. I’m hoping that we can have the resources to do at least a little more in some way, in the coming year . . . it would be a good thing to reach outside of our own little world and help meet the needs of others. :)

If you would like to find out more about the Help for Haiti drive, check out this post on Money Saving Mom!

1 comment:

Mary Ann said...

Great idea, Carrie! I have been wondering myself what little we could do to help. I'll check out that post that you linked to.
we donated a couple of boxes to Operation Christmas Child this year. It was a ton of fun to put together & fairly inexpensive b/c quite a few things could be purchased ahead of time or even from the dollar store.
It is a great feeling to be able to help someone else. A compassionate heart that is able to feel the needs of others can seem painful, but what a gift! To see the need, to feel the hurt, & then do something to help - that's the kind of service that really blesses my heart.