I’m an idea guy. Sometimes, I’m also an execution guy, and when I am, fun things happen like my first completed screenplay and what I believe was the first-ever Nintendo Wii tournament for charity. However, the backburner usually gets loaded with so many ideas that the stove breaks.
The Compassion bloggers are back from India after another uplifting and heart-wrenching experience among children in poverty. There are countless children who need Compassion’s help, but there just don’t seem to be enough sponsors. $32 a month can be a burden, especially in this economy.
I LOVE connecting people with each other and utilizing the power of a group. Well, we have a group of 100 or so subscribers, so if I may channel Sally Struthers:
For only $1 a month, you can help change the earthly and eternal lives of children in poverty around the world.
My idea: Why can’t we sponsor a Compassion child? If every subscriber popped in $1 a month, this blog could sponsor 3 kids. Hence, the birth of the Cool Compassion Project.
I won’t go into guilt-tripping you into forsaking Starbucks to pull this off. I know that I would struggle with giving up my Chocolate Trucker Sandwiches from the Treats Truck every week. But I think that we all can sacrifice $1 a month to participate as a group and make eternal differences around the world.
Again, I’m an idea guy, and this takes planning. Here are some quick thoughts. Please shoot holes in them and offer better suggestions.
- To stay in contact with the child, you all can send us notes that we can pass along. We’ll then post the responses here.
- To pay for the sponsorship, you each can send us $12/year via Paypal. This would be easier to manage than 32 or more $1 transactions every month.
- I’m not sure how we would go about choosing a child or children to sponsor.
Finally, while $1 a month is a tiny commitment, participating in this project means involvement in the physical and eternal welfare of a child in poverty. It will be a fun experience, but one to take on with great importance as well.
So, please give your feedback. Is this even a good idea? Is it risky, impractical, unwise, gimmicky, or unethical?
If it is cool to do, would you participate?
Related posts:
Yeah, I would.
Thanks, Luke! Judging from the response so far, it looks like a no-go.
Compassion – and, you know, God – has completely broken and stolen my heart over the past year. I was so excited when our family could sponsor a child this last month. But that’s just the beginning. I’d love to do a group sponsor with the Cool Fam.
Thanks, Mary! If we can pull a couple of more readers in, then maybe we can pull it off.
Have you thought about what you’d do if people don’t remember to re-sponsor each year? Readership can change a lot over time. Are you prepared to keep sponsoring said child on your own? I’d hate for a child to lose their sponsorship over a bunch of fickle blog readers.
My family currently has three sponsor children, each of them shares a birthday (month, day, and year) with one of our kids. The exception being the baby who’s only 4 months old, since there aren’t kids that young in the program. We went through World Vision because of the ability to search for children based on birth dates. It’s a good way to take some of the focus off of our kids -and their WANTS- on their birthday and Christmas.
Being a one income family means that sending off $105/month ($140 once we find a “match” for our youngest) is a sacrifice. But it’s worth it.
Good point, Amy. Hopefully, we can get enough readers involved to where the financial commitment is relatively small. Not that that’s the focus of the whole project, but it is a reality:
The more people involved, the smaller the commitment, and the more backup available if participants pull out.
Thankfully, Compassion ensures that children whose sponsors discontinue will not have any interruption in support. I don’t take the abrupt change in sponsorship that the child undergoes lightly. However, it’s good to know that the support will always be there.
Your family’s generosity is a great example and one that honors God admirably!
very good idea! I’m in.
very hip!
I’m sorry to say that I’ve been just watching this post like a hawk to see who might come out of the woodwork to make this happen.
So, I officially want to come out of the woodwork and say, Yes. I’d sign up for a year and send 12 dollars.
I will link to this article on my blog… not that you’ll get much traffic from my way, but I will do it and see if we can generate more people.
Thank you for doing this.
Thank you!
We look forward to getting it all together.
Still catching up on your blog. You are an idea guy aren’t you. I still think you might love SSCP with Avant!
Anyway, we’re in!
Great – I’ll be talkin’ at you soon