make a difference.

So one of the reasons that I really liked Tony Campolo's Everybody Wants to Change the World is that it offered such practical ideas for compassionately responding to the needs of others... it's broken down idea by idea with chapters focusing on the elderly, the poor, prisoners, the sick, the hungry, people with disabilities, etc... there are over 100 ideas given and organizations that are listed to help move people from being talkers and brainstormers to real 'DO-ERs' that make an impact... 

Anyways, World Vision is just one of the organizations that was mentioned that is really responding to the needs of children and families and tackling the causes of poverty and injustice around the world... You can visit their website here...

One of the ways to help through this organization is by sponsoring a child or family in impoverished areas around the world... For as little as $30/month, about a dollar a day, you can sponsor a child and help provide them with clean water, food, education, & health care each month... less than a cup of coffee!... my goodness, what a reality check.... I really need to reevaluate my spending habits and needs vs. wants...

I know I know, we hear things like this and statistics but it doesn't always hit home or seem real because there's a Starbucks popping up on nearly every corner around here...or we just feel uncomfortable or guilty by it... seriously though, visit their site... you can click through pages upon pages of kids waiting to be sponsored and helped... you can see their faces and smiles, read their birthdays, favorite things to do, chores, etc... They are real kids!...

A few friends of mine decided to sponsor a child and I recently decided to do so too... Her name is Sylvia and she's a 7 year old living in an area of Uganda, Africa that's completely devastated by HIV and AIDS... Here's a picture of her. What a cutie:)... These kids and families need help! So think about it...  Sometimes it's little things like a dollar a day that can really make a difference...