3 of 3

While Clinton gave a generic speech about the school's acts of service, Kendall sat in the crowd thinking, We're no different from any other school. This is so lame. Next thing she knew, Clinton was calling her name, beckoning her to the stage. Clinton said he was taking her to Chicago—right now—to be a special guest on Oprah's show.

Kendall, her parents, and older brother Connor piled into a caravan with the ex-President. Two hours later, she was on TV, sitting between Oprah and Clinton, telling viewers about KC4K.

"I was like, Am I dreaming?" she says now. "It was ridiculous."

It got even more ridiculous when Clinton announced that an anonymous friend had just written a check to KC4K—for $500,000. "I just started to cry," says Kendall. "I thought, This cannot get any better."

Now quite healthy—she was recently given medical clearance to take her first trip to Africa, which she hopes will happen next year—Kendall says KC4K's five-year total is up to about $700,000.

The money is being spent to help African children. Two recent projects, both with Bright Hope International, include a dorm at a Kenyan orphanage and a meal program for 600 widows, orphans, and AIDS patients at a Zambian facility. They are looking into more projects to fund.

Kendall's dad oversees the business end of things, but no checks are written without her approval. "I get to check off everything as the final decision maker," she says. "It's sort of like shopping—I get to go shopping with all this money, finding projects that I can support to change people's lives."

She summarizes her experience, saying, "When you totally give yourself up to be a tool for God and let him work through you, he listens. And he does it."

Judith Nichols, an expert on generational giving, has compared four generations, those born between World Wars I and II up through today's youth. She concludes that the oldest and the youngest living generations are much more civic-minded than the two generations in between. But while the older generation mostly focused on America, young people today show concern for the entire world. Kendall and Austin are dramatic examples of that.

Mark Moring is a CT associate editor.

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

For more information about these groups, visit HoopsofHope.org and KidsCaring4Kids.com. Christianity Today also has more articles on missions & ministry.

first page |  3 of 3

share this page

December 2008, Vol. 52, No. 12