I recently read Half the Sky and it changed me. I met women who struggle, who hurt, who need help. They are strong, but after learning about them I really wanted do what I can to make their life better. I also wanted Marielle to know that there are girls who don't have it as easy as we do. We watched a video and talked about girls in Africa who can't go to school simply because their parents don't have the money to pay the fees.
We decided to plan a lemonade stand to raise money for a scholarship for a girl in Zambia. Our goal was to hit $211, the cost of one scholarship. Marielle was such a trooper: making posters, squeezing lemons, helping with the cookies and then of course selling. "Cookies and Lemonade!" she shouted probably a hundred times in our two hours on the street. We hit up a brand new flock of freshmen on their way home from school and sold a lot of lemonade and cookies. All totaled, we made $135.31!
For me the sweetest part of the experience came actually a few days before our big sale day. Marielle came to me and said, "Mom, I know how I can help the girls in Africa! I can give them all the money in my purse!" She's been saving random change for months now in her Hello Kitty purse. Her plan all along has been to buy a toy with it, but she said, "Well, I never go to stores that much, so I can just give my money to help the girls." Her coins and one dollar bill added up to $5.27. By small and simple things, are great things brought to pass.--Alma 37:6
If you're good at math you might have noticed we're still $75 shy of our goal. We're not done and are determined to complete our goal. Today Marielle painted three pictures that she hopes to sell. If you want to drink some virtual lemonade, you can donate directly to the scholarship here. Then let us know in the comments how much you donated, so we can keep track of our tally.
4 comments:
I love this. You are such a great parenting example for me. You are creative and you come up with lots of fantastic activities to teach your children about charity and other gospel principles. Thank you or sharing.
jj
Tear*sniff* That is so sweet. I just love that little girl (and her mama too)! The other day we drove past your area of the neighborhood and Addie said, "Mom, do you remember my friend who lived down there? I think her name was Maribella." I thought it was so cute that she remembered her. It's been awhile!
Oh this is so sweet! I don't know if it's because I'm pregnant or not, but it brought on the tears.
Awesome idea.
Post a Comment