5 Ways Kids Can Care for Orphans
You and your favorite miniatures have 14 glorious weeks of summer vacation ahead of you.
What will you do with it? Why not teach your children to do something with their summer that will make an eternal impact?
Specifically, why not encourage your kids to care for orphans? Here are 5 ways they can help:
1. Kids can pray for the fatherless.
The most fundamental thing we can teach our children to do for orphans is to pray for them. We have no greater privilege than to talk to God. By teaching our kids to pray for orphans, we establish a habit when they are young and we teach them to pray for the needs of others and not just their own. Click here to join the prayer team and receive monthly requests and praises.
2. Kids can do fun activities that benefit orphan care.
Through our 30 Days of Caring for Orphans initiative, for instance, your family can download a calendar that encourages 30 days of praying, reading Scripture, and giving of yourself on behalf of the world’s vulnerable children. This unique and creative (dare we say fun?) opportunity will spark conversations that could shape the way your children view orphan care.
3. Kids can organize a service project.
True, they may struggle to organize their closet or the space under their bed, but when it comes to what matters most, they’ve got passion. Channel this energy. Encourage them to mobilize your family, small group, church, or community to meet the needs of orphans. Make journey bags for foster kids, collect car kits for caseworkers, or make welcome baskets. Or let your children think outside the box and collaborate with someone from The Forgotten Initiative about ways they can contribute to meeting needs.
4. Kids can write letters.
Many child sponsorship programs allow you to write a letter to your sponsored child overseas. Missionaries or orphan care workers are often happy to respond to letters of inquiry or encouragement. Many orphanages would gladly accept a care package or packet of cards for the children in their care.
5. Kids can donate time, energy, or resources.
Make no mistake, children are some of the most creative and productive human beings on the planet when they put their mind to a task. Encourage your kids to host a lemonade stand or bake sale with proceeds going toward orphan care ministries. Let ’em be creative! Help them go door to door or invite them to do specific chores where the money earned can be given to someone in need. Consider letting your children spread the word in your family or church that they are working to raise funds for the fatherless. People love to support kids on a mission.
We fulfill our purpose by obeying God and loving others. Make this summer about joy and purpose and it’ll be a summer your kids (and the kids they impact) will never forget.