Holt International: Child Sponsorship {Charity Sunday}

Someday soon I'll tell you a little story about how Kent and I became foster-parents, but first I want to tell you about another charitable act that I love: Holt International Child Sponsorship. We were first introduced to Holt at a concert about 2 years ago. They had tables lined up with pictures of children, who live all over the world, and need donations to provide for food, clothes, and a home. I was instantly drawn to a little girl named Lucille.

As a Catholic I was confirmed into the Catholic Church taking the name of a Saint. I chose my childhood favorite: Saint Lucy. Something about Lucy's story of courage moved me as a child and really stuck with me. This child, Lucille, from the Philippines seemed like a great way to honor my faith as an adult.

Of course you don't have to be Catholic to love Holt International! In fact, I'm pretty sure Holt isn't with any particular denomination- they're just Christian. James 1:27

You can choose a child from Holt's sponsorship page here. I know it might seem a little funny to be choosing the "golden" child, but it really keeps you interested. Every few months or so we receive updates on Lucille's health. Unfortunately, she has some very serious issues and will likely not be adopted. But the child you choose could be, so you can continue to choose new children over the years. One speaker at the concert even talked about how they sponsored a child for a while until they eventually felt a calling to adopt the child themselves, so they started the adoption process. Woah!

via Holt

You don't have to go that far, but you can help. We put Lucille's picture on our fridge. We sent her a card on her birthday, we tell our son that we are helping this child (planting seeds), and we pray for her. As our son gets older and we have more children, I hope to continue with this charity and teach my kids that these sponsored children are spiritual siblings in a way. I want my kids to learn how to pray for them and care about these children that they don't really know. Call it stepping blocks to a faith-filled life.

Since I know $30/month can be hard for many of us, I'd like to also mention Holt's Gift of Hope program. This can be a great program to teach kids how to save money for a goal. Oh that's hard! With a gift of hope, your family can work to save money year-round, pick out a gift together, and then celebrate the purchase together once enough money is saved. Having a goal to work towards may be more intriguing for some kids. :)

via Holt

Whether you donate with Holt or research to find someone else, I hope this gets you thinking of great charitable activities that you can be doing with your children, even as young as 1 and 2yo.

Happy Sunday!

Coupons for Soldiers {Charity Sunday}

On Sundays I will be showcasing my favorite charities. To start it off I am going to give you some information about Troopons straight from their website. Troopons are coupons for the Troops. Our soldiers can use coupons overseas that are expired up to 2 months! Don't throw those coupons out! Families stationed overseas are often dealing with how much less the dollar is worth there and can use our help to save money on base as much as possible. This takes so little time and will only cost you a stamp. :)

The Support Our Troops^® Troopons^® program enhances the well-being of overseas and domestic military families by sending them food, non-food, baby, and pet manufacturer coupons to make their hard-earned dollars go farther.

Coupons must be :

• From manufacturers for individual products" examples include items like soup, pasta or toothpaste.
• Not for individual stores - coupons for individual stores cannot be used.
• Clipped out individually.
• Packaged in sandwich or quart-size plastic bags
• Not assistance vouchers, not food stamps or the like; not restaurant coupons
• Separated into food, non-food, baby, and pet baggies (the military advises they will recycle unsorted coupons due to lack of manpower).

Military families say use their savings to:

• pay other bills
• send their children to college
• simply “make ends meet”
• purchase things they otherwise could not afford

Go here for the full instructions and have some fun with it! :) I think this is a great service project for teenagers, but I also enjoyed doing it myself.

Have a favorite charity you would like me to spotlight? Let me know!