Orphanage Support
Making Change
Sara Stahl loves her job. As a social worker at AAI she is able to make a huge difference in the lives of children around the world.
“I have a passion for my work,” says Sara. “I’m always looking for ways to incorporate that passion into what I teach my own children.”
Sometimes, the passion spills over into the lives of other children, too.
A Penny War
It started with a successful fund-raising effort at Holland Southshore Christian Middle School in Holland, Michigan. Sara knew of some specific needs of an orphanage in Nepal, and asked her husband—the principal at Holland Christian—if the kids could help. They launched a “penny war” between home rooms, and raised nearly $1,800 between Thanksgiving and Christmas!
“The kids really took it on, and were totally into raising the money,” says Sara. “But I wanted to make this kind of effort was a learning experience, too.”
So when she heard of a desperate need for baby formula in a Haitian orphanage, she took it to her son’s preschool class. After a short presentation about what formula is and how important it is to growing babies, Sara gave each pre-schooler in the class an empty baby bottle. It was a symbol of what those children in Haiti had, and how each child in that Holland classroom could help by filling those bottles with change.
The kids were so excited, and the teacher was so enthused about the learning opportunity, that Sara decided to make the same presentation to her sister’s students—second-graders at Calvin Christian in Wyoming, Michigan.
Exploring the Joy of Giving
“The project fit perfectly with our school’s tradition of taking on a charity at Christmas and really explore the joy of giving,” says Sara’s sister, Lea Oosterheert. “We took the opportunity to talk about what it means to be poor, what it looks like and how it would feel to be hungry all the time. When Sara came in with pictures, it all became real and personal to the kids. They were engaged and excited.”
The children brainstormed ways that they could fill the empty baby bottles themselves, rather than simply asking for the money. Several parents reported back to Lea that their children were doing extra chores to earn change—even asking to forego shopping for their parents in order to donate that money to the project.
Just before Christmas, the preschool class and the second grade class turned in a combined total of just over $900!
Making a Difference
“They learned that, even at their age, they can make a difference in the world simply by sharing some of our most basic blessings. That’s a lesson some people take a lifetime to grasp ,” says Lea.
Note: Sara and Lea’s passion for helping children comes naturally. Their mother is AAI executive director Jane Bareman.
More Information
For more information on giving to international orphanages, please visit our donation opportunities page.
