I never got a Valentine from a boy in high school. And it made me bitter.
I sat there, all day long, changing classes and changing desks and changing notebooks, and never once did someone sneak a paper heart my way. Or a balloon. Or a flower.
And as a sophomore in high school, I decided to hate Valentine’s Day.
From then on, because I am the class clown in every setting (just ask Ann Voskamp… she often doesn’t know what to do with me), I decided that would be MY THING. I hated Valentine’s Day and so if I got nothing, GREAT! It was all part of the gig. Hilarious! Through the rest of high school and college, I was the Valentine’s Day Hater.
“Annie is so cool and funny – look she doesn’t even care that she doesn’t have a Valentine.”
Yeah, right.
Grateful are we all that I’ve grown up and no longer cover my hurts and fears with humor (well…. not as often at least).
I see Valentine’s for what it is now- a sweet day where we get the opportunity to love on the people in our lives.
It’s not about what we don’t have, it’s about what we do have. And what we have to give.
This February, I’m on a mission to love in a big and scary way. And I want you, my friend, whether you have a Valentine or not, to love like this with me.
See – there is a high school, full of students just like you and I were, and they are in need. And we have the chance to use this month to love them well. Check out the video below about The 10K Purpose Project. (Subscribers, click on over and watch me in the freezing cold talk about New Dawn High School! And listen for a shout-out to our own Emily Freeman!)
Bullet points. (Can we call them bullet hearts since it’s February? Thank you.)
- Before the end of February, we are trying to raise $10,000 through the Mocha Club for New Dawn High School in Nairobi, Kenya.
- $10,000 will provide walls and ceilings for four classrooms as well as classroom supplies and improve teacher salaries. Pretty much, $10,000 makes a massive impact.
- If we reach our goal in a month, we will take a trip to Nairobi to see New Dawn and be on hand to help with some of the classroom improvements.
- If we reach our goal in a month, anyone who donates $25 or more to The 10K Purpose Project (over 18 years old) will be eligible to apply to go with us. FOR FREE. So someone is getting a FREE TRIP TO KENYA in May. IF IF IF we raise $10,000.
It’s a pretty crazy goal. But it’s one we can easily reach if we work together. We’ll look back on Valentine’s Day 2014 and remember it as the month we intentionally loved together because we gave together. Little sacrifices make for a big impact.
(Check out who else is going on the trip! Shaping up to be a fun one.)
By Annie Downs
