President's Letter: Holiday Giving
Sunday, November 30, 2014
December 2014 Newsletter
“Leprosy work is not merely medical relief. It is transforming the frustration in life into the joy of dedication, personal ambition into selfless service. If you can transform the life of a patient or change his values of life, you can change the village and the country.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
While we prepare for a joyous holiday celebration with family and friends, let's pause to reflect on those who are not so fortunate and remember Rising Star Outreach on our gift-giving list. Rising Star Outreach has a deep impact on the lives we touch in India. You and your family can be part of this meaningful work by contributing to the many giving campaigns we have. Visit our website and get started on your own giving campaign!
“I took the opportunity to sponsor a teenage girl. That means that I will pay a dollar a day to help support her and others at the school. She is a member of the school dance group. I felt [my daughter’s] nod of approval as I watched [my sponsor child's] passion for dancing. I couldn't stop the tears when I observed her smiles and joy when she performed—very much reminding me of [my daughter’s] joy and passion for dance. I feel so connected to this young girl [and also my daughter]. She wants to be a teacher one day, and I plan to do everything I can to make that a reality for her.”
-- E. Knell
Click here to sponsor a child!
If you’re looking for a meaningful experience for yourself or your children, if you're looking for an opportunity to serve as a family, please volunteer at Rising Star Outreach. Serving side-by-side with your family or friends makes memories that last a lifetime! It certainly was life changing for my family. One parent shared his thoughts about serving with his daughter at Rising Star Outreach:
“My oldest daughter and I arrived at Rising Star’s campus in India in July 2014. It has been an amazing experience. We visit colonies to care for leprosy patients. We do manual labor and we visit the school. It’s hard work. Hard physically and hard emotionally, to see people suffering great physical pain, to be so far from everything familiar...but it’s just that sort of challenge that gives me confidence in the outcome of our family. It is the process of quietly serving others, dad after day that builds the qualities every parent wants to see in their children; a caring heart, a selfless attitude, and the confidence to do hard things. These are qualities that we talk about but struggle to teach when we are engulfed in our own easy lives; yet they develop naturally when you spend your days serving someone else far from home, and far outside your own comfort zone.
It’s a wonderful thing to watch my daughter work to build up others and know that they are building up her as well, in ways that my wife and I can hardly do without their help. I look at the other volunteers and smile, as I think of their parents worrying about them. I watch them all serve and I see how well they are doing. And I wish every parent could experience what I’ve been through here. “
--N. Wells
Click here to be a volunteer!
Last October while visiting a new colony I met a beautiful woman, a mother named Nithia. She shared with me that begging in the streets was very difficult, but it helped feed her children. She had no hope that life could be different for her. Because Nithia has received a micro-loan from the self-help group in her colony, today she has a small business as a seamstress and is no longer humiliated by begging in the streets. She is lifting her own life and filling her children’s lives and her community with hope! Please consider contributing to the micro-grant program and empowering individuals with the gift of dignity and productive work.
Click here to contribute to the micro-grant program!
This year our wish list includes ways you can help Rising Star purchase specific items that are needed in the colonies and on the campus. You and your family might be interested in providing assistance for the Medical Program, which helps thousands receive essential medical care, bandages, and medicines. You can make a donation to help purchase clothing, blankets, or items for the classrooms, or donate to help purchase a sewing machine or even a goat! (Now that’s a great way to get your children excited about helping others!)
Click here to “Buy a Goat” and other gift guide items!
Heartfelt thanks for helping Rising Star Outreach transform lives through these generous gifts. Our own lives are transformed and enriched when we care enough to reach out to others.
Happy holidays!
Warmly,
Sally Read
President
Rising Star Outreach
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