Working together to follow the Savior’s example of service, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in four countries recently donated clothing, food, bedding, kitchen supplies and more to help children in need in their own communities.
These efforts included supporting a food bank to feed school children, giving kitchen supplies to three public schools, gathering supplies for at-risk children and delivering furniture to a girls’ shelter.
Church feeds students in Honduras
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints signed an agreement with the Food Bank of Honduras on July 21 to provide food to more than 100 students of the Francisco Morazán School.
Tegucigalpa Honduras Toncontín Stake President José L. Carcamo Valle spoke during the official event marking the partnership, reported on by the Church’s Honduras Newsroom.
“In compliance with the commandment to love God and our neighbor, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints signs this agreement to be able to provide this support to the Food Bank, where these children will benefit,” he said.
The executive director of the Food Bank of Honduras, Vanessa Caballero, expressed her gratitude to the Church, saying, “We give thanks for this trust that you are placing in us through the signing of this agreement.”
The partnership means students will have the food they need during the day, which will improve their performance at school. The effort also seeks to increase the students’ access to nutritional foods, while providing training on nutrition and growing family gardens.
Church donates equipped kitchens to three schools in Guatemala
More than 465 students from three public schools in Palencia, Guatemala, will benefit from the donation of fully equipped kitchens from the Church.
The kitchens include industrial stoves, freezers, dishwashers, as well as two containers and a room to prepare the food, reported the Church’s Guatemala Newsroom.
Guatemala City Atlántico Stake presidency first counselor Erick I. De Leon Rojas officially presented the donation to the educational officials on July 21.
“The purpose of the donation is to benefit students so that their food is prepared in hygienic and decent conditions, which allow them to make better use of nutrients for the benefit of their physical and intellectual development,” he said, quoting Mosiah 2:17, which reads, “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
The schools’ directors expressed their deep gratitude to the Church, explaining that the donation of the kitchen space, industrial stoves, freezers and dishwashers will allow for more safe preparation and conservation of food preparation for the school children.
Church members donate to home for at-risk children in Peru
Members of the Lima Peru Chaclacayo Stake led a donation drive for the children’s home, El Niño Emanuel, in the city of Huaycan.
On July 17, they delivered the donations of clothing, non-perishable food, educational games, kitchen utensils and household items to the shelter, reported the Church’s Peru Newsroom.
The institution houses children and teenagers who are in extreme poverty or at risk. Volunteers from the Church helped distribute the games and clothing, even helping some of the children find the right sizes.
The volunteers wore yellow “Helping Hands” yellow vests for the afternoon, as they were acting in service while representing the Church.
Church donates beds to girls’ shelter in Argentina
Responding to a request for help, members of the Buenos Aires Argentina Aldo Bonzi Stake found a way to donate beds, bedding and paint to Elegí Smile Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission to help vulnerable children and teenagers.
Missionaries and other volunteers helped carry bunk beds, bed frames, mattresses and lockers or cabinets up the stairs into three girls homes operated by the organization around Buenos Aires.
After they did so, the foundation’s director, Laura Gomez de Brun, said, “The resounding change is incredible, not only aesthetic — they are beautiful — but the important thing is how our rest improved thanks to the comfort of the beds.”
The Church’s Argentina Newsroom reported that the equipment came from the Missionary Training Center that operated near the Church’s temple in Buenos Aires.
The foundation’s Facebook post from March 7 expressed how grateful the girls were, and how the donation represents people working together in unity for the well-being of those in need.
While the furniture was previously used, the project made the houses look newer and added to the spirit of a nice and comfortable place for the girls, reported Newsroom.
