LOGOS
Helps Stuff for the Poor
February 2008
On Wednesday, February 20, 2008, our LOGOS children
of all ages, their families, and additional church
members brought in 480 pairs of new and gently used
pairs of shoes.
A gentleman named Providence Rubingisa spoke
to our middle schoolers after dinner about his
ministry called, "Stuff for the Poor" - www.stuffforthepoor.com. He
is trying to help children and families in Africa.
Providence had quite a story to tell as he survived
the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
The following week
the middle schoolers sorted all the shoes and put them
into bags. They had been stored
in the apartment on the third floor. As
you can see in the pictures, they formed a
big line and passed the shoes down the stairs and into
Stewart Hall for the sorting. The following Friday,
Cheryl Sammer, her son Ryan, Mary Kinsey, and her daughter
Natalie met Providence Rubingisa out in West Chicago
and put all the bags of shoes into the storage lockers
he had. As
soon as the lockers are full, everything will be sent
to Africa. |
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Above are Alex Nauert, Mike Paradise,
Nick Matosian, and Jamie Jaeschke (right to left). Kelsey
Sayner, Rachel Downing, and Emma Shine (top to
bottom) are in the photo on the right. |
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| Dana Miller, Katie Brennan, Rachel Cline, and Rachel
Strelecky |
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| Jack Kirschbaum, Johny Matosian, Andrew Maloney,
and Eric Kayne |
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| Kasey Gassensmith, Rachel Downing, Allie Urban,
Ariel Falls (in back), and Maddie Lenz with a big bag
of shoes |
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| Monica Moore, Mari Bryant, Amy Smith, Samantha
Schieber, and Jesslyn Carroll (in front) |
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| Andrew Maloney bagging up shoes |
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An article in the Daily Herald of October
22, 2007, which can still be viewed at http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=61712 provides more information about Providence Rubingisa
and his organization, Stuff
for the Poor. The clothing and shoes collected
are shipped to Rwanda where they are sold at low cost
to middle-class people to raise money for a community
development project in a poor village in Tanzania called
Mbwewe. The money the shoes will raise is aimed
to provide basic needs like water purification in the
Tanzanian village.
Information about the donation by First Presbyterian Church and Providence Rubingisa
and his organization appeared in the Daily Herald on May 19, 2008, and can still
be viewed online at http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=192179.
Providence Rubingisa then wants his
work to continue in countries like Zambia, Uganda,
Burundi, Kenya, and the Congos. He would like
to have a big warehouse in the
Chicago area to store the donations, but he currently
sorts donations each morning at the container yard
near the DuPage Airport where he has rented storage
lockers. |
| Cheryl Sammer and Ryan in front of their car full
of shoes |
|
Ryan Sammer in the storage locker |
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Natalie Kinsey and Ryan Sammer pose with Providence
Rubingisa by his storage locker.
Our youth are hoping to help Providence Rubingisa
sort donated "stuff" as an ongoing mission project. |
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Our thanks to Mary Kinsey for the Photos!
Return to Past Events 2008
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