We have a section of our newsletter focused on how we truly take our core purpose – “To Better the Lives of Others” – seriously, and the impact some of those organizations we support are making. We’ve featured some great organizations already: Partners in Care, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of Central Oregon, New Each Morning, Foster & Adoptive Parent Association of Lane County, Hospice of Redmond, Habitat for Humanity, Convoy of Hope, Stone Soup Group, Kid’s Lab, Healing Reins and Companion Animal Medical Project. This month, we’d like to feature an organization that empowers kids (and their families) to help kids in need: Sparrow Clubs.
Sparrow Clubs USA is a Bend, Oregon-based organization. Its inspiration was a middle-school boy who emptied his bank account (all $60 of it) to hopefully make some kind of difference for a baby that needed desperate medical care. His generosity inspired others, and they raised enough money to pay for the bone marrow transplant the child needed.
That act of kindness inspired that middle school teacher to write a book about the story and four years later, Sparrow Clubs was born, using a simple, yet powerful service model that ignites compassion and empathy in students wherever it is introduced. School children all over Oregon, and now Arizona have adopted sparrows and helped fundraise for their needs.
The Sparrow Club has four core values:
- Compassion: They believe the power of compassion is within everyone – sometimes it just needs a pathway to be released. They believe all kids benefit from having meaningful opportunities to engage in giving of themselves to others in need.
- Conscience: They believe kids learn best from education and life experiences that establish a foundation for successful decision-making.
- Community: They believe the quality of life within and around each community can be enriched when members, including kids, have the opportunity to give of themselves.
- Character: They believe kids can distinguish themselves with special traits and qualities when presented with opportunities to engage in selflessness, service, and caring for others.
The program’s reach even made it into an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition, as the Southern Oregon chapter’s founders – who had been doing great work in the community – got a new home:
To learn more about Sparrow Clubs and how you or your school can be involved, reach out to them at sparrowclubs.org.