Putting the FUN in Fundraising

Fundraising. It doesn't always come with the most cheerful and enthusiastic of thoughts. More so the "how can I avoid this" intuition kicks in on whichever end of the asking or dishing out you are. The reality for us, though, is that it's an essential part of our mission to Kenya. We wish we could say companies are clamoring down doors to get people to come work for orphans, widows, or disabled children on a salary, but they are not so we must rely on the generosity of our family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and connections here to allow us to help carry out our mission work.

Corn hole players in action at our fundraiser "Cornhole for Kenya"

While we were initially daunted by the thought of doing to uncomfortable task of asking people for money, it has surprisingly come much easier than we thought. Little by little we have dwindled our way down to be within about 85% of our goal. While we have gotten out of our comfort zones a bit, we've found that our passion for the topic of our work and mission helps us get through. What's better is that people are genuinely interested in hearing about it and what to help become in involved. We can only thank the Lord for all the blessings he has put before us with generous donors and supporters!

Along the way we wanted to work to make the fundraising inclusive, fun, and a way to connect with people through events. We held 3 fundraising events: a trivia night at our church, a silent "services" auction in which people volunteered services (such as photography and piano lessons) on behalf of our service work, and most recently a good old Indiana corn hole tournament called "Cornhole for Kenya". All the events have been a blast and a great way to share our mission with people in person before we head off. Thanks again to all that helped support us and came to these events!