Barbara Comito, former marketing director
3 min read
Longing for Community
Every year, the holiday season seems to start earlier—decorations go up and purchases are made in preparation for Christmas long before December....
Meet the Hefling family: Maliaka, Izzy, 4, Noah, 9, Silas, 6, Roman, 2, Joe, and Maranatha, 16 mos.
Inspired by Christ's miraculous feeding of the 5,000 from one sack lunch, the Heflings have undertaken a fabulously ambitious project - turning old, broken crayons into the funds necessary to serve 5,000 meals at the Union Gospel Mission. Thanks to food donations from a generous community (over $2 million in food was donated last year), UGM can serve a meal for just $1.84.
$1.84 x 5,000 = $9,200
$9,200 from rejected crayons - you've got to admit, that's ambitious. But then, that's the point. "We can’t wait for people to see what God can do when a few are faithful to serve Him with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish," Joe said.
The Motivation
The Heflings' heart for the homeless is not a new thing. They've gone downtown to hand out food and clothes on numerous occasions.
Izzy said seeing people without homes and food makes her sad.
Silas explained: "We want to make money, so that when they eat and when they live, we can tell them about Jesus."
Joe quoted Luke 3:11: "'The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.’ Our family would like to take our desire to follow Jesus’ command to care for the poor to another level."
The Plan
It's simple: Collect old, broken crayons. Melt them down and mold them into new crayons. Distribute them and collect donations to feed the hungry.
Noah said they got the idea from one of his children's magazines. Another family had done something similar to help get children out of slavery.
How to Help
1) Clean out all those messy, broken crayons, and instead of trashing them, bring them to UGM (1224 E Trent Ave. in Spokane ; 196 W Haycraft Ave. in Coeur d'Alene ) or either of the UGM Thrift Stores (301 W Boone Ave & 11921 E Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley).
2) Contact Colors of Hope Spokane about getting some new multi-colored crayons and/or making a donation: colorsofhopespokane@gmail.com.
Joe's cousin and her family have joined the Heflings on this project and created a Facebook page to keep fans up-to-date on their progress. We'll do the same, so check back from time to time and watch God work.
And Heflings, may God multiply the work of your hands in amazing ways!
5 min read
Holiday Ways To Give
The holiday season is a time for giving, and what better way to spread some cheer than by helping those in need? Homeless and low-income individuals...
5 min read
Gratitude in Recovery
One of UGM’s core values is Thankfulness, and this month we reflect on the pursuit of gratitude in our day-to-day lives and in the work of healing...
Colors of Hope Update
Barbara Comito, former marketing director : August 8, 2013
From left: Ethan, Melissa, Cameron, Isaiah, Silas, Noah, Izzy, Roman, Maliaka, Joe and Maranatha The Reid and Hefling families stopped by 1224 E...
Inseparable
Barbara Comito, former marketing director : January 20, 2013
“And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we...
Three of God's Children
Union Gospel Mission : October 1, 2012
CHRIS family breakdown, substance abuse Chris’ mom went to prison when he was three for selling cocaine. His dad hung himself when Chris was eight....