Brian and Emily Zinn describe their son as quiet and reserved, so they were surprised when he started a fundraising project at his Indiana elementary school.
9-year-old Gideon learned about Send Relief through Vacation Bible School. He got excited about helping meet families’ physical needs while also sharing the love of Jesus. In his words,
“It’s great to help people, but they need something more than that—God. I chose to raise money for Send Relief because I saw a video about how you were helping in Puerto Rico after the hurricanes and sharing the gospel,” says Gideon. “I thought that was neat. I knew if I donated, I could probably help more people like that.”
The Zinns usually donate towards missions as a family, so when Gideon approached them and said he would like to fundraise for Send Relief’s crisis response fund, they said, “Absolutely! What’s that?”
Soon afterwards, they were hard at work making coasters to sell at a school fundraising event.
Gideon wanted to do most of the work himself, so his father Brian helped him saw 4-by-4 boards and watched as he crafted and sanded nearly 100 custom-made coasters.
“All we did was cut up some wood and put a picture on it and sell it, but this money is actually going to help people and bring them Good News,” says Brian. “Anybody can get involved at any level and age. Gideon made a difference and encouraged others to make a difference.”
The Zinns further shared that they intentionally discuss other cultures and ways of life with their kids in the hope that they will absorb an understanding of bigger issues happening around the world.
“You can’t replace talking to your kids about the world,” says Brian. “They’re going to be interested in what you’re interested in so, when we are excited about helping people, and they sense that’s important to us, they’re going to naturally follow. Our church and Send Relief are really helping with explaining poverty and slums and things like that at age-appropriate levels, and our kids really are listening and paying attention.”
Share stories of your family’s fundraising projects at [email protected] for a chance to be featured on our website! For ideas on how to get your children involved in caring for vulnerable kids across the globe, check out our children’s activity guide.
As Gideon said, “It’s good to give to Send Relief because you can help people and save lives.”
Published December 15, 2020