The Exchange club of Brunswick held their weekly lunch meeting and our guest speaker was Ally Christianson Director of Hope 1312 collective. Ally told the club about hope 1312 collective. The name comes from the bible in Proverbs 13:12 Hope differed makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Our efforts were launched in 2014 by a small group of community members, social workers, foster parents, youth pastors, business executives, who were tired of seeing kids linger in the foster care system and kids from hard places continue to struggle to find Hope. We wanted to see resources leveraged for meaningful impact, see the church truly be the church, and lives changed through an encounter with Hope. We, as the collective, have a responsibility to engage in the child welfare system and create lasting change in the lives of at-risk children in our community. There is Hope for children in hard places, but we have to work together. We as the Church are commanded to care for orphans. Historically, the Church engages with the child welfare system based on their perception of needs, however, we connect the Church with actual needs. The Church has the resources - relationally, professionally and financially - to reach vulnerable families and transform our community and society as a whole. We know that the current story of kids in the foster care system is a story of Hope being deferred time and again. The broken nature of the system often leaves a child stuck in the waiting, and hearts become sick over time. However, when a longing is fulfilled a tree of life is possible. Essentially, an encounter with tangible Hope shifts the trajectory. To learn more or to donate to Hope 1312 collective visit their website www.hope1312co.org
Comments