Pay it forward: Hope, the greatest gift

I have hope for our community’s future. Educate tomorrow’s workforce and insure all that start, finish with skills to enjoy a rich life and serve others to pay it forward.  Wouldn’t that be great? Let’s Hope!

Tuesday I visited with Erica Mundt, and learned of her passion for service. As Executive Director, Erica guides and navigates ever-changing priorities, issues and challenges as Camp Fire gives children hope. Caring counselors connect and spend time with the children. By communicating, playing and helping with school work the child’s perspective changes as they see people care about them and their future. They matter, hope flourishes.

For $15 per semester, a student at any one of 12 elementary schools can sign up for Camp Fire. One day a week, Camp Fire picks the students up at their elementary and takes them to Camp Fire where they have a hot meal (thanks to WF Food Bank) and spend time with counselors. And then Camp Fire counselors take the students home to their families.

The biggest gift the children get, hope. Regularly once a week they see their counselor, their friends, have a hot meal — maybe the only one that day. People care about them. They to learn a STEM-related skill each week.

Erica hopes Texoma Gives reaches the $50,000 goal for Camp Fire. She notes philanthropy is harder as the economy tightens and aging donors pass away. Money is challenge one, then challenge two is finding the right counselors who can listen, coach, mentor and build relationships with children who haven’t been treated as a priority in many cases. What if you helped give hope to Camp Fire? As I shared this story with my friend David in Georgetown; he gave $100.  If more people helped similarly and Camp Fire’s Texoma Giving reaches $55,000 maybe another school could be served giving hope to more of tomorrow’s community leaders.