I wanted to share with you two charities worthy of consideration during this season of giving.
The first, Access Empowerment International is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and the communities they live in, through education. Their work is primarily concerned with Ghana- the home country of our dear friend Kern.
Access Empowerment International was started by friends very near and dear to our hearts. We first met our friend Kern when he attended University in this country with one of Sky's brothers. Kern lived with the family during school breaks and worked for the family business during the summers. He is very much part of the family, sang at our wedding and spoke at the memorial for Sky's dad. His wife Erika is lovely, smart and big-hearted- their kids are just the cutest!
Erika is also immensely brave- taking small children across the world on a plane!! They just started a blog to chronicle their adventures working in Ghana, you can visit it *here*.
Another charity that I think highly of is heifer international. This group reflects the thought,
"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for life." Through this group you can purchase an animal for a family to help provide food and/or earnings for that family to improve their lives and to share with other families in their community. Animals are picked for each unique area and situation. You can support this group directly through the organization, by buying gifts through their gift catalog, or by purchasing gifts such as this shirt here.
Of course, I would want to tie this into homeschooling for my children, Heifer international has a storybook titled "Beatrice's goat" that explains what the charity strives to do. It's a great story, the kids will really be touched and interested.
So, did you get a goat for Christmas??