Over the past 11 months, a lively group of students here in Nashville has raised over $5,000 for clean water in Africa! They named themselves the James 2:17 Project, which simply states, In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by actions, is dead. They were determined to put their faith into action by creatively raising money and awareness for clean water in Africa. Their mission was simple: when I talked to Noah last month he said, “We wanted to raise $5,000 for a well in Africa, through Blood:Water in 365 days.” They did it in 325. When I pressed deeper, Noah told me about the multiple mini fundraisers they did over the last year. They started small with a car wash to test the waters and had a great response. Next they put their personal talents to work be selling artwork at a local “Art in the Park” gathering. Gaining more traction and as money started coming in, they decided to do “2 weeks of sacrifice” drinking only water for two weeks. Encouraging others to do so, as well, they raised over $800! Now that they were really on a roll, they hosted a live entertainment night from their community, followed by a trivia night, and cupcake and coffee sales from local vendors. Getting even more creative, they approached Jim n Nicks BBQ with the idea that if they could collect enough receipts from customers that Jim n Nicks would give 10 percent of the total bill. All of this happened within a matter of 11 months! Nothing tired out these amazing young people! All of this was going on under our nose without even us here knowing about it! You can imagine my surprise and excitement when Noah called me to tell me about their journey over the last year. The amazing news is that they were able to raise just over $5,000 for clean water! Not only did they raise the money faster than they anticipated, they were able to raise more than they imagined. This group of young people inspires me to use my gifts and talents to make a difference! I hope that you come away feeling inspired, knowing that no goal is too big, and creativity goes a long way when you want to make a difference. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we share more ways that you can “Be the movement’ in your community! Michael Dean Manager of Volunteer Engagement
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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