Wesleyan Youth Pastor Initiates Fund-raising Efforts for Haiti
Jan. 14, 2010
Stevan Sheets knew he had to respond to the recent tragedy in Haiti after hearing about the massive earthquake that shook Port au Prince on January 12.
In 2007, the youth pastor from Armbrust Wesleyan Church in Armbrust, Penn., visited the country on a mission trip to La Gonave, a Haitian island.
“It was a life-changing event for me to experience such poverty on a first-hand basis,” says Stevan.
Because of his compassion for the Caribbean country, he thought of ways he could help from the East Coast and decided to get teens from his youth group involved.
“The challenge that I gave to my students on Wednesday night was initially to give what they could from their pockets at that very moment,” says Stevan. Those 12 students collected $46.25 in a hand-weaved basket Stevan bought in Haiti three years ago.
Steven also launched a “This is Haiti” Web site to encourage friends, family, and visitors to donate toward a goal of $1,000 to help Haitians in need. That goal has already been surpassed, and a second goal of $1,000 has been set.
–photo courtesy of www.bpnews.net
