Kids to send school supplies to others

By Matt Bewley | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, March 30, 2007

The seventh- and eighth-grade confirmands at Federated Church are a serious bunch. When the Rev. Douglas Dent dared them to take on the “Children Helping Children” project as a confirmation class project, they more than rose to the challenge.

“We pitched the idea to the class, that we wanted to provide school kits to 30 kids in another country,” he said. “They said, ‘We can do more than that.’”

And so they are.

The Children Helping Children project is sponsored by Church World Services (CWS), an international charity organization.

“Educating children is one of the most important development steps a community can take, especially in third world countries,” he said. “School kits are a great way to help children get started on a path to success.”

Each kits contains some of the same basic supplies we provide for our own children at the beginning of each year. There are scissors, notebooks, crayons, pencils and erasers. Each kit will be assembled into a school bag and shipped overseas.

“A complete kit costs about $15,” Dent said. “If you wish to purchase items, please drop them off at the church office.”

If you prefer not to purchase supplies for an entire kit, the kids will gladly accept any items offered. They do hope to prevent over-stocking some items while not having enough of others, so the church encourages contributors to call ahead and ask which items may be in short supply.

If you wish to contribute financially, he said, checks can be written to Federated Church, with ‘School Kits’ on the memo line.

“The items are needed by April 15,” he said. “As always, your support is greatly appreciated, and truly reflects Christ’s love.”

Federated Church is located at 224 N. Union Ave. in Fergus Falls. For more information call 218-739-3227.