31 Days of Giving

I read a recent post called It All Started With a Cow by Yvonne at Our Little Corner of the World this week. In the post, she recounts how her family focused on setting aside a little bit of money each day in December and in the end, they had set aside enough money to buy a cow for a family in need.

You really should read it yourself.

She was inspired by a post Lisa Marie wrote three years ago. So I clicked on over to read that post and found an amazing resource.

It's a calendar for 31 days of giving. I've tweeked it a bit to make it more current and to focus on the ministry of Compassion and their current gift catalog.

I've been going back and forth with the idea of doing an advent calendar and when I read about this, I just knew this is what we needed to do. We always incorporate the gift catalog into our Christmas giving, but I haven't found a meaningful way to do so - a way that will make an impact on my young girls. I think with a daily challenge to set aside money - and a correlation of how and why we are doing so - this will be a meaningful activity for us this year.

Below you'll find the list with daily assignments. I've added gift suggestions from Compassion's gift catalog and a link to that specific gift.

I've printed out the list and cut it apart to create an advent calendar. Each day the girls will open a new envelope and we'll read and complete our assignment. I think I'll have a jar where we'll collect our money. Then at the end of the month we can add it all up and go shopping. If you want me to email you the word file, just leave a comment...I'll have your email from that and can send it to you.

December giving calendar

Day 1 - The first Sunday in December pray for the work and staff of Compassion International. Day 2  - You are blessed if you own a Bible. One-third of the world does not even have access to one. Give $1 for each Bible in your home. (adult literacy - $22)

Day 3 - Almost half the world's population -- three billion people -- live on less than $2 a day. Are you by God's grace part of the other half? If so, give your $2 with a thankful heart. (food and water - $25)

Day 4  - If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a comfortable place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world. Give 25¢ for every bed in your home. (care for a waiting child - $30)

Day 5 - Over 30% of the world's population, two billion people, cannot read. Give $1 for the blessing of reading. (textbooks $40)

Day 6  - As of the year 2000, nine million children in Africa had been orphaned because of AIDS. Give 50¢ for each of your parents who are still alive. (HIV/AIDS testing and treatment - $50)

Day 7 - If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish some place, you are among the top eight percent of the world's wealthy. Give your spare change so others can live. (provide for an urgent need - $30)

Day 8  - Jesus said "I am the light." Give 5¢ for every light bulb in your home.

Day 9 - 24,000 people die every day from hunger-related causes. Give $1 if you ate today. (emergency feeding - $13)

Day 10  - Recently, hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes during typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Give 10¢ for every year you have safely lived in your home. (emergency shelter - $50)

Day 11 - Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Almost 75% of the population of Haiti has no access to safe water. Give 25¢ for each faucet in your home. (safe water for life - $79)

Day 12  - More than 418 million people have died of hunger and poor sanitation in the past 50 years. This is nearly three times the number of people who have died in all the wars of the past 100 years. Give $1 for the gift of life. (help babies and moms survive - $44)

Day 13 - Pray for the Compassion Child Survival Programs around the world.

Day 14  - Imagine what it would be life if there were no facilities in your home. Give 25¢ for every bathroom in your home. (bathrooms at Compassion center - $25)

Day 15 - One-third of the developing world's population lives on less than $1 per day. Give $1 if you have a job. (vocational training - $500)

Day 16  - 130 million children alive today will not receive an elementary education. Give 25¢ for each high school graduate and 50¢ for each college graduate in your family. (desks for students - $57)

Day 17 - Did you attend church this week without threat of persecution, torture, or death? Thank God, and give $1 so that others might have the same privilege. (safe playground - $35)

Day 18  - Pray that God will help His people to develop compassion as a lifestyle.

Day 19 - So  many people in the Philippines lost everything they own when the typhoon struck. Give $1 for each room in your house. (replace items lost to disaster - $40)

Day 20  - For many in the developing world, walking is their only form of transportation. Give 10¢ for each person coming to visit this Christmas season. (bicycles - $100)

Day 21 - Throughout Asia, an estimated 525 million undernourished people struggle to meet basic daily nutritional needs. Give 50¢ for every trip you've made to the grocery store this past week. (feed a baby and mother - $14 for one month)

Day 22  - Most people in the developing world don’t have the world wide web at their fingertips. Give $1 for each device in your home that gives you access to the internet. (help develop a future leader - $40)

Day 23 - Most people in the developing world have to work every day just to survive. Give 50¢ for every day you have off from work for this holiday season. (small business startup - $430)

Day 24  - Give 25¢ for every toothbrush in the house and 50¢ if it’s yours. (dental care - $20)

Day 25 - We each have so many blessings. Praise God with a thankful heart for the best gift of all, His Son.

Day 26  - 880 million people lack access to adequate health care services. Give 25¢ for each container of medicine in your medicine cabinet. (treatment for illness or injury - $40)

Day 27 - Every day in the developing world 30, 500 children die from preventable diseases. Give 25¢ for every healthy child in your family. (protection from parasites - $4 for one child)

Day 28  - Sleeping with protection from mosquitoes is a lifesaving luxury in many parts of the developing world. Give 50¢ for each bed in your house. (mosquito net for malaria protection - $18)

Day 29 - In Honduras, a country of six million, less than 3% of the people have their own telephone. Phones come in handy when you have an emergency. Give 50¢ for each phone in your home. (rescue from a dangerous situation - $1045)

Day 30  - Many people must go barefoot, walking miles across rugged terrain to get the basics like water. Give 10¢ for every pair of shoes you own. (water wells - $30)

Day 31 - Pray that God will reveal to you how you can show compassion to your friends, neighbors, and world in the coming year.