In Haiti, two natural resources exist in abundance: heat and humidity. The wind, or any air movement at all, is rare.
I knew going into a recent mission trip that this would be true. And surprisingly, even though I worked through the heat mixing concrete with a shovel and building walls by raising cement block after block to teammates on scaffolds, I didn’t complain. Instead, I sweated. I drank gallons of water, much of it warm. I unashamedly sought shade. Yes, I bordered on delirious exhaustion. And along the way, I learned that after a couple days the human body begins to develop significant sensitivity to even the slightest breeze. Oh, what a feeling when a faint flutter of wind arrived—it was like a cool shower that restored hope and renewed life!
Fundraising often feels similar—real, hard work in sweltering conditions, with little relief. When an unusually fresh breeze passes through, you can’t help but take notice.
As this summer began, a college sophomore named Meagan contacted our organization. Meagan sits right in the middle of a generation typified by texting, tweeting, posting, and other social media interactions: obsessions, according to many. Even addictions. Have you read much, if anything, that paints a positive picture of youth and life online or on their iPhones?
What she offered to do for us still makes my skin tingle. Maybe it will for you, too—but only if you’re sensitive to the slightest winds.
Meagan asked if she could launch a unique social media campaign to raise funds for us. She wanted to do something worth doing over the summer months, she told us. Her sister volunteers for our program as a mentor, and Meagan described how the stories of the difference her sibling was making in a youngster’s life had captured her heart. So she researched and found an organization that exists to help people raise money for legitimate causes.
Her proposal: she would create and post videos that encourage donations. She would recruit people to help spread the word through their web of contacts. She would offer to do crazy antics at different gift intervals and video them for all to see. She would find donors willing to give perks to cash donors. She would contact traditional media outlets to solicit free publicity. And she would call it Crazy for Hope (click to see her campaign).
What did our organization have to do in return? Say yes. Confirm Meagan’s legitimacy if contacted by media. Hold onto the donated perks until they’re mailed. And accept the donated funds. That’s all.
As I write this column, Meagan’s campaign has now surpassed $3,000—meaning she will soon post a video of herself acting as a living statue on a busy downtown street. Kind of crazy. A bit of fun. And yet this whole thing is profound.
Here’s why. Meagan stands as strong example of what happens when a young person, with a heart filled by God’s love, receives affirmation to fully be herself. If more people will resist the urge to complain about a generation’s communication practices and, instead, raise opportunities up to them, walls between age groups will crumble. And that’s when fresh ambition, energy, creativity will be unleashed.
Yes, help this generation engage the world with their passion in a way they love—and the winds of change will blow.
David Staal, senior editor for Building Church Leaders and a mentor to a first grader, serves as the president of Kids Hope USA, a national non-profit organization that partners local churches with elementary schools to provide mentors for at-risk students. David is the author of Lessons Kids Need to Learn (Zondervan, 2012) and Words Kids Need to Hear (Zondervan, 2008). He lives in Grand Haven, MI, with his wife Becky, son Scott, and daughter Erin.
