Last semester, Northstar Church walked through the introduction to our Immeasurably More campaign. Through this, we have been challenged to give generously and sacrificially as we move forward in the building process. Coming out of this campaign, our leaders in Jumpstart began discussing ways in which we could encourage our kids to give, as well.
Initially, the thought was that we could just begin taking up an offering each Sunday during Jumpstart. The money would simply go to Northstar’s general fund. Nothing wrong with that, right? The thing about kids, however, is that they like to see results. They like to see progress. They like to see something tangible.
In considering this, we thought about another option. And since our next location will be only a stone’s throw from Prices Fork Elementary School, we decided to reach out to our future neighbors to see if they had any needs that we could try and fill. In an enthusiastic email, Principal Domenic Saia expressed that they could always use help with the food pantry that they had at the school. “We would love any help with this,” he said as he explained that the pantry was available for their “many students who struggle with hunger.”
Now that we knew of the need, we set a goal of $100. The Jumpstart leaders explained to their students what the offering was being raised for, allowing them to ask questions about where the money would go and who it would help. Beginning in February and over the following weeks, the Jumpstart kids exceeded their goal by raising $108.
With the money raised by the kids, Julie and Kaylee were able to go out and purchase snacks for Prices Fork Elementary School. This past Sunday, our two Jumpstart classes came together to assemble snack packs that would be easy to hand out to those in need at the school. Our kids split into three groups, forming an assembly line which bagged up pretzels, Goldfish crackers, and Capri-Sun juice pouches. The kids were excited to help out, some even going so far as to ask if there was more they could do when we ran out of snack items.
Our hope is that we have taught our Jumpstart classes what it means to be generous with the blessings that God has given us and that they will continue carrying on this spirit of generosity with them as they grow older. We also look forward to continuing our new relationship with Prices Fork Elementary School as we look to a future as next-door neighbors.
