I’ve made no secret of my love for Blood:Water Mission and the work that they do. They dig wells to provide communities with clean water, but they don’t just dig it and ditch it: They teach, love, and invest in the community where each well provides water to live and an example of Living Water, both of which we take for granted.
As a church community, as parents, as educators, etc., we strive to teach children about the needs of other people, but sometimes this task is daunting. We wonder where to start, how to visually convey such a complex and vast message, and how to get children to enjoy being involved. Well, Blood:Water has made this extremely easy for you… like, ridiculously easy.
VISUAL BRANDING
A visual branding is especially important for kids. Illustrated characters are often far more effective at conveying a message to kids in a way that will capture and hold their attention.
Enter the lovable mascot of Walter (get it? wa(L)ter? please, tell me you get it…); a visual branding to educate kids about the needs of their African neighbors. Okay, I know he’s just a water drop, but the point is clear, and children will get it.
You might be thinking, “I could have come up with a water drop.” I’m sure you could have, but that is only the tip of the iceberg (made of water… get it http://pong.uw..anada.html?) with what Blood:Water Mission has done for you.
THE WHOLE PACKAGE
Blood:Water have literally created everything you need so that you can just focus on getting the kids involved:
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[list_item]Concise Explanation: Unlike my blog posts, they have kept WalterProject.org short and sweet. It’s effective, and it makes sense. You can literally just let the kids sit down and read the site for 10 minutes, and they’ll get it.[/list_item]
[list_item]Options for Fundraising: Right on the home page of the website, you can choose to let Walter help your kids build a “Lemon:Aid” stand, sign up to help as a church community, or get creative with your own fundraiser event idea, complete with a few suggestions to get you started thinking.[/list_item]
[list_item]Campaign Profile: Whether you are throwing a single event or giving over time as a church, each option contains within it the ability to set up your own profile page to direct people to online. It also keeps a tally of your donations and milestones reached through your giving (like getting an entire well built!).[/list_item]
[list_item]Downloadable Presskit: The kiddos will need to be able to advertise their fundraising event or ongoing efforts. Walter has downloadable kits all ready for them to take to a printer and get fliers made, with slides for a presentation, a Walter logo, a poster, and a PDF document to hand out that explains the whole thing.[/list_item]
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In fact the featured image of this blog post is the first presentation slide in the kit! Pretty cool, huh?
So, if you’ve been looking for a way to get your children or children’s ministry involved in international missions, Blood:Water Mission has given you the way. I can’t recommend this enough! Lots of organizations help you with ideas and might even give you a logo file, but Blood:Water has gone above and beyond to provide you with a virtual outstretched hand to hold throughout the entire process of fundraising with children and making a difference, including explanations to help them understand the why of it all.
And seriously, how incredible is it that this project gives children the opportunity to help other children around the world?! Be sure to visit www.WalterProject.org and check it out for yourself!