"Pay It Forward" but for real. :)
Read to the end and see what people did with the money. :)
From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Here's $100, now go do good
None of the congregants attending the 10:30 a.m. mass at St. Batholomew's Catholic Church in Wayzata on a cold Sunday in mid-February knew quite what to expect when the Rev. Michael Reding called for 45 volunteers. A few rose from their seats immediately, others more hesitantly, and then a steady trickle made their way to the front. "I thought it was going to be a little skit up there on the altar demonstrating some virtuous activity," recalled parishioner Harry Gwinnell. Once there were enough volunteers -- too many, as it turned out -- Reding reached into his cassock and pulled out a wad of $100 bills. The money, $10,000 in all, had been specifically donated for this purpose.
"It's not so often that you come to church and get $100," the 40-year-old priest joked as he handed out the cash. "It's not so often that Father gets to feel like [game show host] Monte Hall." Although Reding had already handed out $5,500 at two previous masses that weekend, the other congregants had honored his request to keep secret the nature of the assignment.
"There are three key points for this assignment," Reding told the volunteers: "First, you have to realize that this is God's money. It's not my money, it's not your money, it's not St. Bart's money. It is God's money. "Second, you need to use this $100 in some way beyond the walls of St. Bart's to advance the kingdom of God, to build His kingdom. "Third, we want you to let us know in 90 days what you have done with the money." The morning's homily was the parable of the talents in the 25th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew: A master entrusts three servants with money before leaving on a journey. When he returns, he praises the two who made the money grow and chastised the timid one who buried his portion in the ground. "Don't worry, there won't be anyone thrown into the darkness with a grinding of teeth," Reding quickly added. The congregation laughed. "The third servant is chastised not because he didn't double the money, but because he did nothing, absolutely nothing. Each of us can do something, each of us can use our talents no matter how limited to build God's kingdom," he said. "Maybe you will build God's kingdom close to home, and maybe you will build it in some faraway country. Anything that builds God's kingdom is fair game. Just don't be left with the same $100 when it's all over, because the master doesn't want it back."
The results of the Kingdom Assignment were reported at last weekend's masses, but Reding was careful to call his report "a celebration, not a conclusion." The project, which has generated more than $100,000 in donations so far, has taken on a life of its own, he told his flock, and would continue to flower for years to come.
He invited two congregants to come forward and tell their own stories: Marketing executive Mary Killorin Caswell decided to raise $25,000, the cost of one bedroom at Mary Jo Copeland's Gift of Mary Children's Home and Charter School. She wrote a business plan, created marketing materials and asked 25 people to contribute.
So far, she's more than halfway to her goal, and she stressed what she has gained: a feeling of being part of the community at St. Bart's and the larger community of people in the Twin Cities who are helping children at risk.
Carol Rinkoff told the congregation that her first reaction to the assignment was surprise -- and it was not a pleasant feeling. "I don't have enough time and energy to take on the things to which I am already committed," she said. And her project, a children's library for a homeless shelter, quickly grew larger than she envisioned. With the help of friends who bought books or donated family favorites, her $100 turned into $1,500 worth of children's books. Donations are still coming in. Rakoff said that she, not the kids, has received the greatest gift. She heard friends share intimate stories about books that have special meaning to them and their families. And to her surprise, she said, she found that the project gave her more time and energy for the rest of her life. "Thank you, God, for the ways you surprise us," she told the congregation. Reding could only mention briefly a few of the other projects:
• Mike and Sharon Peschel, who invited their friends to a potluck and bingo night at St. Bart's social hall and raised $6,200, doubled by matching grants to $12,400.
• Linda Adams, who parlayed her $100 into a shipment of soccer balls, jump ropes, stuffed animals and more, destined for schoolchildren in Iraq.
• Judy Matheson, who will spend her summer in a training program to be an advocate for at-risk children.
• Stephen and Catherine Kedzuf, father and daughter who will spend the next 2½ years raising a Helping Paws dog, who will spend the rest of its life helping someone with disabilities.
The contributions will touch lives around the world. Through charities such as the American Refugee Committee and Heifer Project International, they will provide loans to villagers in Sierra Leone and livestock to poor farmers in Latin America. They will also provide help much closer to home, through food shelves, day-care centers and housing services. One couple held a wine-tasting party; another a blood drive. Students at St. Bartholomew school created greeting cards. But this story is about more than how 100 good-hearted people used their talents and $100 to help others. It's also about thousands of others who were drawn into the assignment, in an ever-widening circle. And it's about how many of the participants were touched by the assignment in unexpected ways.
Gary Yanish is familiar with volunteering; his friends say he spends as much time every week helping others as he does as a mechanic for Tenent Industries. But the Kingdom Assignment felt different to Yanish. Working with God's money, he didn't want to fail. At an American Legion Post in New Ulm, one woman offered to match his $100 if he would spend it on pull tabs. Yanish declined. Instead, he used the money to expand his annual plant sale, adding new varieties of perennial flowers, and handcrafted birdhouses. Four years ago, Yanish planted a seed when he held a one-day plant sale that raised $400 for Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners, an ecumenical organization supporting west suburban neighbors in need. The sale has grown every year since, with neighbors contributing plants from their gardens and local nurseries donating pots. This year's four-day sale raised about $8,000, with about $800 earmarked for the Kingdom Assignment. The Kingdom Assignment proceeds will pay for summer camp for a couple of kids with attention deficit disorder, YMCA camp for a 12-year-old boy whose mother can't afford to send him and dance lessons for a 14-year-old.
Reding ran out of cash before he got to Bridget Crane, so she used her own $100. "When I told my husband my idea, he said, 'Let's give Chandler, [their 6-year-old son] $10 to do the same thing.' "
"Basically, the way I explained this is: We need to better the kingdom of God. You have got to do something nice for somebody else. "And Chandler said, 'Like Mason James, the baby who lost his mom?' And I said, exactly." (Mason's mother, Jennifer Waymire, died of heart disease; Mason's grandmother, Ginny Hersey, is Chandler's kindergarten teacher.) Chandler decided to host a movie club. He spent the $10 on popcorn, Starbursts and juice boxes, and invited over about 30 of his friends to watch "The Lion King 1½" on video. Each kid was asked for a $3 donation. Even kids who couldn't make it donated. Afterward, Bridget Crane helped Chandler make a scrapbook for Mason James to look at when he gets older. All the kids signed it, and they stuck in the back the $79 that was raised. "Chandler brought her [Ginny Hersey] the book, and everyone signed the card, and she took one look at it and said, 'I might have to look at this at recess because I think I am going to cry.' " Bridget Crane said she thinks Chandler "got it, and I think other kids who came got it."
From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Here's $100, now go do good
None of the congregants attending the 10:30 a.m. mass at St. Batholomew's Catholic Church in Wayzata on a cold Sunday in mid-February knew quite what to expect when the Rev. Michael Reding called for 45 volunteers. A few rose from their seats immediately, others more hesitantly, and then a steady trickle made their way to the front. "I thought it was going to be a little skit up there on the altar demonstrating some virtuous activity," recalled parishioner Harry Gwinnell. Once there were enough volunteers -- too many, as it turned out -- Reding reached into his cassock and pulled out a wad of $100 bills. The money, $10,000 in all, had been specifically donated for this purpose.
"It's not so often that you come to church and get $100," the 40-year-old priest joked as he handed out the cash. "It's not so often that Father gets to feel like [game show host] Monte Hall." Although Reding had already handed out $5,500 at two previous masses that weekend, the other congregants had honored his request to keep secret the nature of the assignment.
"There are three key points for this assignment," Reding told the volunteers: "First, you have to realize that this is God's money. It's not my money, it's not your money, it's not St. Bart's money. It is God's money. "Second, you need to use this $100 in some way beyond the walls of St. Bart's to advance the kingdom of God, to build His kingdom. "Third, we want you to let us know in 90 days what you have done with the money." The morning's homily was the parable of the talents in the 25th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew: A master entrusts three servants with money before leaving on a journey. When he returns, he praises the two who made the money grow and chastised the timid one who buried his portion in the ground. "Don't worry, there won't be anyone thrown into the darkness with a grinding of teeth," Reding quickly added. The congregation laughed. "The third servant is chastised not because he didn't double the money, but because he did nothing, absolutely nothing. Each of us can do something, each of us can use our talents no matter how limited to build God's kingdom," he said. "Maybe you will build God's kingdom close to home, and maybe you will build it in some faraway country. Anything that builds God's kingdom is fair game. Just don't be left with the same $100 when it's all over, because the master doesn't want it back."
The results of the Kingdom Assignment were reported at last weekend's masses, but Reding was careful to call his report "a celebration, not a conclusion." The project, which has generated more than $100,000 in donations so far, has taken on a life of its own, he told his flock, and would continue to flower for years to come.
He invited two congregants to come forward and tell their own stories: Marketing executive Mary Killorin Caswell decided to raise $25,000, the cost of one bedroom at Mary Jo Copeland's Gift of Mary Children's Home and Charter School. She wrote a business plan, created marketing materials and asked 25 people to contribute.
So far, she's more than halfway to her goal, and she stressed what she has gained: a feeling of being part of the community at St. Bart's and the larger community of people in the Twin Cities who are helping children at risk.
Carol Rinkoff told the congregation that her first reaction to the assignment was surprise -- and it was not a pleasant feeling. "I don't have enough time and energy to take on the things to which I am already committed," she said. And her project, a children's library for a homeless shelter, quickly grew larger than she envisioned. With the help of friends who bought books or donated family favorites, her $100 turned into $1,500 worth of children's books. Donations are still coming in. Rakoff said that she, not the kids, has received the greatest gift. She heard friends share intimate stories about books that have special meaning to them and their families. And to her surprise, she said, she found that the project gave her more time and energy for the rest of her life. "Thank you, God, for the ways you surprise us," she told the congregation. Reding could only mention briefly a few of the other projects:
• Mike and Sharon Peschel, who invited their friends to a potluck and bingo night at St. Bart's social hall and raised $6,200, doubled by matching grants to $12,400.
• Linda Adams, who parlayed her $100 into a shipment of soccer balls, jump ropes, stuffed animals and more, destined for schoolchildren in Iraq.
• Judy Matheson, who will spend her summer in a training program to be an advocate for at-risk children.
• Stephen and Catherine Kedzuf, father and daughter who will spend the next 2½ years raising a Helping Paws dog, who will spend the rest of its life helping someone with disabilities.
The contributions will touch lives around the world. Through charities such as the American Refugee Committee and Heifer Project International, they will provide loans to villagers in Sierra Leone and livestock to poor farmers in Latin America. They will also provide help much closer to home, through food shelves, day-care centers and housing services. One couple held a wine-tasting party; another a blood drive. Students at St. Bartholomew school created greeting cards. But this story is about more than how 100 good-hearted people used their talents and $100 to help others. It's also about thousands of others who were drawn into the assignment, in an ever-widening circle. And it's about how many of the participants were touched by the assignment in unexpected ways.
Gary Yanish is familiar with volunteering; his friends say he spends as much time every week helping others as he does as a mechanic for Tenent Industries. But the Kingdom Assignment felt different to Yanish. Working with God's money, he didn't want to fail. At an American Legion Post in New Ulm, one woman offered to match his $100 if he would spend it on pull tabs. Yanish declined. Instead, he used the money to expand his annual plant sale, adding new varieties of perennial flowers, and handcrafted birdhouses. Four years ago, Yanish planted a seed when he held a one-day plant sale that raised $400 for Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners, an ecumenical organization supporting west suburban neighbors in need. The sale has grown every year since, with neighbors contributing plants from their gardens and local nurseries donating pots. This year's four-day sale raised about $8,000, with about $800 earmarked for the Kingdom Assignment. The Kingdom Assignment proceeds will pay for summer camp for a couple of kids with attention deficit disorder, YMCA camp for a 12-year-old boy whose mother can't afford to send him and dance lessons for a 14-year-old.
Reding ran out of cash before he got to Bridget Crane, so she used her own $100. "When I told my husband my idea, he said, 'Let's give Chandler, [their 6-year-old son] $10 to do the same thing.' "
"Basically, the way I explained this is: We need to better the kingdom of God. You have got to do something nice for somebody else. "And Chandler said, 'Like Mason James, the baby who lost his mom?' And I said, exactly." (Mason's mother, Jennifer Waymire, died of heart disease; Mason's grandmother, Ginny Hersey, is Chandler's kindergarten teacher.) Chandler decided to host a movie club. He spent the $10 on popcorn, Starbursts and juice boxes, and invited over about 30 of his friends to watch "The Lion King 1½" on video. Each kid was asked for a $3 donation. Even kids who couldn't make it donated. Afterward, Bridget Crane helped Chandler make a scrapbook for Mason James to look at when he gets older. All the kids signed it, and they stuck in the back the $79 that was raised. "Chandler brought her [Ginny Hersey] the book, and everyone signed the card, and she took one look at it and said, 'I might have to look at this at recess because I think I am going to cry.' " Bridget Crane said she thinks Chandler "got it, and I think other kids who came got it."