Once in a while, a truly remarkable young person steps up to make a difference in the lives of others. Olivia, 9 years old from Ballwin Missouri, is one of those truly remarkable young people! In October, Olivia had such a heart for the children in the orphanage in Haiti, that she, along with her sister Emily, organized an 8 mile walk with some friends to raise money for the orphanage. Olivia created a PowerPoint presentation to share with people as she began to collect pledges for the walk. They created t-shirts for the walk and had anyone who donated toward the effort sign their shirt. They created a big banner... and then set out for the 8-mile walk. Friends, family, and complete strangers pitched in to help the orphans through the walk. Then, about a week later, Olivia asked all her friends who were coming to her birthday party to forego bringing her a gift, and instead, to donate to help the orphans in Haiti at Maison.  Olivia raised over $1500 through the walk, and an additional $500 at her birthday party.

Another group of young people also pulled together to help raise funds for the orphanage in October. Chapter SEEK, a chapter of Institute for Cultural Communicators, also planned and prepared an evening of entertainment for the community. They memorized and prepared speeches and humorus interpretations of popular stories and also shared about the work of For His Glory and Maison with the audience. Through their efforts, $325 was raised to help care for the children in the orphanage.

These are only two stories of the countless ways that children and young people have made a difference in the lives of the children at Maison. Schools have held fundraisers, taken offerings, made clothes, and even made and distributed a CD with the proceeds being donated to support our children. We are so thankful for these young people who have taken it upon themselves to ask the Lord what THEY can do to help and make a difference for the children at Maison! We know the Lord is glorified through their efforts to "care for the orphans in their distress." In addition to the young people who have stepped up to help, we are also so thankful for a handful of adults that have organized hikes up Pikes Peak and runs to benefit the orphanage! All of these projects have made a difference in the lives of the children God has placed in Maison.

We would like to invite you to think about how you might be able to make a difference. Maybe you can't donate personally right now - but you could help to organize a fundraising walk/run, or host a fundraising party where you share with your guests about the orphanage in Haiti and ask people to give as they feel led. Maybe you hold a garage sale - or organize a community garage sale with your neighbors - to benefit the orphanage... the possibilities are endless and every dollar makes a difference in the lives of the children in the orphanage. If you are interested in helping, but need some additional information, please look over our website for information on the orphanage and feel free to contact me. We would value your help!