Our family decided to donate our gift to Operation Give Back (OGB). The organization was started by a family in our neighborhood to help Sycamore school students through tutoring, mentoring, literacy help, school supplies, a food pantry and holiday toys and food. The programs help kids in our local community to be successful in school and to not go hungry. Our family has volunteered with OGB and we felt that the gift, including our matching donation and my company’s match will multiply Good Shepherds and Gods grace threefold to make a bigger impact on our community.

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Inspired by the ways the Holy Spirit has touched each of our lives, we sent the money in some different and personal directions.

We had heard of the concept of spreading love and goodwill to others by randomly paying for someone else’s order in the drive-through lane of a fast food restaurant. It appealed to us because the exchange is such a real-life example of the way God’s grace is given and received. The gift has a cost, but it is freely given, and the recipient happily receives it without needing to earn it. We also liked the thought that we were not choosing who would receive the gift, and were actually leaving it up to God. We can’t know how the recipient will react to this gift, but we hope that they will read the included note and receive a reminder of how God’s love works. A portion of the Gods Grace Your Hands money has been given this way.

Through a friend we had also heard about the Mentoring Plus program in Northern Kentucky. This faith-based organization chooses those youth who are the most needy and provides guidance, help, support and love. We knew they would help many disadvantaged youth and their families with GGYH gift money.

Another portion was given to the International Help of Missionaries organization. This organization has grown out of one man’s desire to help missionaries in Africa and his impressive ability to make things happen. A few years ago this organization was referred to Mark for a simple website to explain how people could help. IHM has paid to drill water wells, they started a school and a health-care clinic and helped in countless other ways. Through some unusual circumstances and chance connections and the Holy Spirit, they were able to completely fill the clinic with medical equipment from a phased-out clinic in New York. Right now they are trying to source an ambulance to support the clinic. For the people near the clinic, it will be the only medical help they will ever receive. IHM received a significant portion of our gift to carry on their good work.

After careful consideration of many organizations that do so much good in our world, Danelle’s thoughts turned to MOPS International. A friend had introduced her to MOPS when our first child was about a year old, and MOPS provided her with information, support, friendship and spiritual growth for the next 8 years and more than a few significant life events. Out of appreciation for the impact that MOPS had on our family and a desire for other mothers to benefit from the support they provide, we chose to donate a portion of our gift to MOPS International.

Our family has participated with many outreach opportunities through Good Shepherd to improve the lives of those around us. The experience of re-giving money from Good Shepherd was unique and moving. Since we as a family deliberated and chose the gift recipients ourselves, we felt God’s Grace flowing through our hands and into the lives of people we knew would really benefit from receiving them. God’s love touched us in the giving as much as it touched those who received.

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Children bring joy and hope. In the spirit of “God’s Work. Our Hands,” we matched the check and donated half to research dedicated to saving babies from a rare disease. The second half we donated to hands-on help to students, for whom English is not their first language, so they can succeed in Tristate schools and universities. The 501c non-profits are: SmashSMARD (Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory Distress) and the English Language Learning Foundation of Cincinnati (ELL). The faith our neighbors show as grandparents of a baby battling SMARD inspires us. “Brooks the Champ,” as his mom calls this handsome boy with a big smile, has rallied the love and support of every neighbor, friend, and member of his family. We chose ELL as the children of immigrants whose parents and grandparents succeeded because of the support of church and community. We are impressed with the camp experiences, scholarships, mentoring, and tutoring provided by ELL.

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