THIS IS NO ORDINARY GIFT.
Giving an animal is like giving someone a small business, providing wool, milk, eggs and more. Animal donations can provide families a hand up, increasing access to medicine, school, food and a sustainable livelihood.
The youth of the church collect loose change for our "Heifer Project". Every summer our kids collect a "noisy offering". They go around the sanctuary Sunday mornings and shake little boxes while collecting the loose change of our congregation....that's the "noisy" part.
Once summer comes to and end, right around the beginning of the school year, we total all the change collected and choose what livestock to purchase for a family in a third world country. Our goal is always a full heifer, $500. That's the "heifer" part. We are able to do this through the mission of Heifer International. Please watch the video below for a fun description on how Heifer International works.
The following is from Heifer.org website (find the original page here):
"We help empower families to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity – but our approach is more than just giving them a handout. Heifer links communities and helps bring sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with a long history of poverty. Our animals provide partners with both food and reliable income, as agricultural products such as milk, eggs and honey can be traded or sold at market.
When many families gain this new sustainable income, it brings new opportunities for building schools, creating agricultural cooperatives, forming community savings and funding small businesses."
First United Methodist Church of San Benito
