Generosity is Everywhere

Our God is a generous God. From life and breath to music and sunsets, he has given us gifts that sustain us and make life beautiful. James tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” Our response to this gracious God and Father is to be people who give of ourselves out of our abundance, especially since we know how sweet it is to receive in abundance from our creator.  

As The Geneva School prepares for Friday’s annual SALT Serveathon, we can see evidence of generosity from students, parents, and the local community. In less than two and a half weeks, students in all grades have raised almost $110,000 in donations by asking parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, and friends to sponsor them for their day of service. We are well on our way toward reaching our goal of $150,000 and the proceeds of SALT will fund student scholarships.

Many people come together sharing resources, time, and money to make this day of service possible. Every gift matters, and the beauty of this experience is that every student from our oldest to our preschoolers can (and do!) contribute as well as grandparents, parents, friends of Geneva, and local businesses. Here are a few examples:

• Two of our youngest students, Luke and Pearson, gave up their personal money in order to donate to their classroom projects. Here’s what happened: Luke received a LEGO set for his birthday and chose to return the set so that he could give the money to SALT. Pearson requested that no one open the door to his room one morning. Once he opened the door, his mom discovered that he had cleaned up his room with the hope that he could earn some money to give to school for SALT.
• Four of our entrepreneurial grammar school students decided to host a lemonade stand to earn money for SALT.  These four prayed that they might earn $400 from their efforts. After a Saturday full of making and selling lemonade, telling their SALT story, and sitting in the hot sun, they closed up shop having earned $399.08. It was a joyful occasion as they experienced how their hard work bore fruit and evidence that God heard and answered their specific prayers.  
• Local businesses have also been eager to help when asked. Both Publix and Costco have donated funds toward filling the Blessing Bags, the 2nd grade project. Florida Paints in Winter Garden provided all of the paint supplies necessary for the eighth grade house-painting project. When one of our parents went in to the Home Depot on Lee Road to ask for support, the manager grabbed a cart and began filling it with yard work supplies such as rakes and trimmers.

Generous in-kind contributions like these along with the pledges and sponsorships from students, teachers, family, friends of the school, and local businesses are threads that weave a living and beautiful tapestry that everyone can see: an action-packed fulfillment of Hebrews 13:16, where the writer encourages,”Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Jesus told his disciples,“whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We are striving to be more like Jesus, and on this day of service, our hope is that by serving and learning together, we will, indeed, share what we have, serve our neighbors, and lay up our treasures in heaven. 

There’s still time to make a donation to SALT. Go to www.genevaschool.org/salt2018. Search for a specific student, become a sponsor, or make a general gift to Geneva.