What do you say when someone sneezes? If you’re like many people, you’ll respond with a cheerful “bless you.”At the Antelope Valley Church in Southern California (www.avchurch.org), they’re always looking out for ways to serve their community. They’ve hosted flu shot clinics, backpack giveaways, and wholesome celebrations for Halloween. But this year they were presented with an opportunity that they never could have planned or expected.
Through their participation in Read Across America (www.nea.org/grants/13003.htm), longtime members Dave and Jackie Owens met and befriended Margo Deal, principal of the nearby Eastside Elementary School. Ever eager to serve, Dave and Jackie asked if her school had a particular need that they could fill.
Mrs. Deal nodded, thoughtfully. Backpacks are nice, she explained, and school supplies such as paper and pencils are always welcome. They never refuse. But in their impoverished neighborhood, the students often come to school exhibiting cough, sneezes, and runny noses. It’s hard to pay attention in class when you can’t breathe, and the school never has enough facial tissue to go around. “So please, please, bring us facial tissue. Lots of it.”
Dave and Jackie were stunned. Mrs. Deal pleaded not for crayons or computers, but for a simple inexpensive product that could make all the difference in the education of her students. They gave a report to the Spiritual Leadership Group of the Antelope Valley Church, and the group immediately embraced the idea. And Operation Bless You was born.
The beauty of this particular venture, was that anybody could do it. Some of their past projects required a certain amount of physical labor (such as painting a homeless shelter) or large investments of time. But this was something that anyone, young or old, healthy or feeble, could do. Indeed the entire congregation was mobilized, and everyone could share in the victory.
Ivan Strean, their new associate minister, came up with the moniker "Operation Bless You." And what a blessing it was: in just a few weeks, over 3,000 boxes were donated, enough for Eastside to share with other schools. The local newspaper ran a feature story. At the school, the teachers are encouraged because they no longer have to reach into their own pockets to buy tissue. Diseases don't get spread around, the kids stay in school, and (potentially) they learn more because they miss fewer days.
Proverbs 11 tells us, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will be refreshed.” What a refreshing exercise this has been.
Ivan Strean, their new associate minister, came up with the moniker "Operation Bless You." And what a blessing it was: in just a few weeks, over 3,000 boxes were donated, enough for Eastside to share with other schools. The local newspaper ran a feature story. At the school, the teachers are encouraged because they no longer have to reach into their own pockets to buy tissue. Diseases don't get spread around, the kids stay in school, and (potentially) they learn more because they miss fewer days.
Proverbs 11 tells us, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will be refreshed.” What a refreshing exercise this has been.
