Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, February 2008: WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR SPARE CHANGE?

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR SPARE CHANGE?
Show Hope And Join the Nationwide
“CHANGE FOR ORPHANS” Campaign Through
Shaohannah’s Hope!

NEWS SOURCE: Vining Media
February 5, 2008

Nashville, TN – February 5, 2008 - Continuing to fight for the millions of orphans around the world, the ministry of Shaohannah’s Hope is reaching out with its effective “Change for Orphans” campaign. The campaign’s poignant message of “Giving a little changes a lot - give change now” is one of the many ways Shaohannah’s Hope is doing its part to show hope.

Did you know?
Every 18 seconds, another child becomes an orphan.

The “Change for Orphans” campaign, which officially kicked off last fall and continues on through this spring, is being facilitated during Steven Curtis Chapman’s Live In This Moment nationwide concert tour. The movement asks for all concertgoers to collect loose change from their homes, their cars, their pockets and wallets, and bring that change to the concert they attend in their respective towns. The change collected during each show is then donated to financially assist a local family who are in the process of adopting an orphan. If over $4,000 is raised, this enables Shaohannah’s Hope to give multiple grants and help other families as well. During the fall leg of the tour, over $190,000 was raised through “Change for Orphans,” with an average of over $6,000 per show.

“The need of orphans is so great,” explains Chapman, “that we too often believe the lie that one person can’t do anything significant. But this is a unique opportunity to make a difference just by collecting your loose change and gathering a couple friends to do it with you, by donating that pile of coins you have lying around, or by giving up a cup of coffee each week and bringing in that money. Small things add up, and together we can change the life of an orphan.”

Did you know?
Over 143 million children have lost one or both parents.
16.2 million of them have lost both parents.

For more than five years, Chapman and Shaohannah’s Hope have partnered during his nationwide tours to help bring an end to the number of orphans by raising awareness and by collecting funds. Each night resulted in record breaking numbers! From just two previous tours, Shaohannah’s Hope has raised over 2.1 million dollars, not including tens of thousands of dollars that were raised through the sale of Christmas ornaments. In addition, over 1,700 couples expressed interest in adoption and over one thousand responded to the need of orphans and kids waiting in foster care.

Did you know?
By 2010, the number of children orphaned by AIDS globally is expected to exceed 25 million.

“God is continually awakening His people to a faith that is more than just words—an authentic faith that evidences the hope we have in Christ,” describes Scott Hasenbalg, Executive Director, Shaohannah’s Hope. “With this upcoming tour we are inviting people to join us by showing hope and changing their world for orphans. Through big and small ways, we can each follow in the footsteps of Jesus and care for the needy and the orphan, whether it be through mobilizing our community, giving generously, or going out to love waiting children. We can take advantage of right now to show hope to an orphan, and it can start with just a little change.”

Did you know?
At any given point, there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care System.

SHOW HOPE
Shaohannah’s Hope has launched the Show Hope project—a campaign to engage individuals and communities to evidence the hope they have in Christ by speaking up for orphans and caring for them in their distress. Centered on the belief that an authentic faith connected with action will bring life to a skeptical and hurting world and glorify the God of love, Show Hope encourages every person to change their world for orphans.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If you are unable to attend one of the shows, you can still participate in the “Change for Orphans” campaign! You can help by donating directly to Shaohannah’s Hope by visiting www.shaohannahshope.org and click on the Donate Now button.

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