“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12.
Much like her parents, my oldest daughter has a soft spot for African children in need. This year, she decided that she wanted to raise $500 to buy a dairy cow for a village in Africa. She brainstormed all sorts of ways to raise money for her cause. We allowed her to give most of her ideas a shot (even the surprisingly successful dog grooming/lemonade stand). One of her ideas was to host an art show. So, we decided to team up with some good friends of ours (https://twitter.com/robertpoling) and give it a shot. Throughout the past 6 months or so, our girls worked with their moms and grandparents to create works of art for the show. Last night was show time. They decided to charge $5 per person to get in. The goal: raise $500 for Christian Relief Fund. Total actually raised: $2,021.
It was a really great night. Thanks so much to all of you who came out.
When my daughter first had the idea, I thought, “This will be great! They can learn all about different artists, styles, artistic mediums, etc. as they create art for the show.” As you may be able to tell from the pictures, they did, in fact, learn quite a bit about all of these things. Their mom and grandma are fantastic teachers. Here is the cool part though: the show turned out to be an excellent opportunity to teach our girls quite a few valuable (arguably way more valuable) lessons. Here are a few:
1. how and when to invite people to an event
2. how to promote an event
3. how to prepare appetizers for an event
4. We (the parents) were able to have some good, life-lesson-type conversations with our daughters about expectations and disappointment (example: it’s important to be thankful no matter how many people show up, no matter how much art is purchased, no matter whose silent auction item brings the most money, etc.)
5. how to set up and decorate for an event
6. how to welcome people to an event by making eye contact, shaking hands, and thanking them for coming (yes, they practiced this)
7. how to watch for visitors who look lost or confused and help guide them through the event
8. how to look people in the eye and thank them for coming
9. how to clean up after an event
10. how to write “Thank You” notes
Now, I’ll address a few of your questions:
Q: I want my kids to host an art show, but who is going to want to look at and buy my kids’ art?
A: This is why grandparents were created.
Q: When did you have time to do all the work for this?
A: First of all, clearly my awesome wife and her friend helped the kids put this together. If I had been in charge, it would’ve looked terrible. Secondly, they’ve been working on this for months. Thirdly, our girls are homeschooled, so we were able to fit art classes into the daytime hours.
Q: Wait a sec….did you say…
A: No, I don’t feel like answering a bunch of questions about homeschooling today.
Q: Why Christian Relief Fund?
A: I’m so glad that you asked. We’ve supported CRF for years for a number of reasons. For one, if you’ve ever had any involvement in the world of trying to help needy children in Africa, you know that it is an unbelievably challenging project. It’s often not as simple as “give them some food” or “build an orphanage.” CRF has enough experience to know how to get the most bang for a buck. They have found ways to sift through a challenging culture of poverty and make a direct impact on lives. Consider sponsoring a child here: CRF Sponsor A Child.
Q: Will you please post more pictures of the fabulous art work?
A:
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