The gift of giving together

“Christmas is an exciting time, especially for young people,” says Emiley Shenk, a mother of two and chair of the Christian Formation Commission at Toledo Mennonite Church in Toledo, Ohio.

Indeed, members of the church’s youth group share that each year, they look forward to all kinds of festive fun, from gathering with loved ones, to spreading joy through thoughtful gifts, to the promise of splendid snowfall.

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As they take the time to make memories and enjoy wintry weather together, the church’s youth, including Shenk’s two daughters, also make time to help people around the world.

“While we celebrate the birth of Christ, which in our context involves gift-giving, this season also calls us to embody Christ’s love through generosity,” reflects Emiley Shenk. So, every Advent season, the youth are invited to participate in a collective act of generosity — often, contributing to a fund for MCC Christmas giving and encouraging loved ones to do the same.

In December 2024, Emiley Shenk, and Christian Formation Commission members Jenny Morgan and Kimberly Beiler, again brought the group together for Christmas giving fundraising. But this year, Shenk shared with them an idea for a new, more hands-on approach. The youth would perform acts of service in Toledo and invite the church to donate based upon these efforts. “We tried to frame generosity broadly,” she recalls. “We talked about there being a variety of ways to give, and that we all have ways that we can give of ourselves. Even though kids don’t usually have a lot of their own money to give, the ways that they can give are just as important.” 

Shenk and other leaders shared with families a list of ways that youth could serve, including bringing food to someone in need, doing yardwork for an elderly neighbor, completing tasks around the church, or sending hand-drawn pictures and kind notes to people in their community. “If there was another idea, we were open to those as well,” says Emiley Shenk. “There was a lot of flexibility.” This approach made the fundraiser accessible to all interested youth, no matter their interests or skillsets. In the end, 10 children and teens took part, ranging in age from 4 to 14.

During church services, the participants shared about the service work they’d done together and invited congregants to donate funds for Christmas giving based on these efforts. Emiley Shenk recalls that participants approached these announcements with a spirit of humility, wanting to draw minimal attention to themselves as individuals. “It’s an interesting conundrum when we consider service,” she says. “Sometimes our efforts in serving others will be visible, sometimes not. … The visibility itself may be inevitable, but what we do with that visibility matters. … We tried to keep the focus on participating in the good news of Christ’s birth.”

Working as a group also helped the youth maximize their reach, says Max Bennett, 13. “It was a lot easier. As a congregation, we raised a lot more money than if one or two people would work together, so it was really good to put the whole congregation together into one goal and we got a lot more funds to get whatever we needed .”

As the fundraiser wrapped up, the 10 participants got together to count the money they’d raised, and they considered the year’s gift options. They made their choices through a voting system. “They really  worked to include everyone’s different interests and opinions,” says Emiley Shenk. “Seeing the kids unite to decide how to spend the money was a joyful and meaningful moment.”

Through the generosity of their church, the group was able to purchase a number of gifts. Their selections included wells, goats, fruit trees and the gift of keeping girls in school. “That was something that was really important to me and some of the other girls in the community because it’s very necessary for girls to have education,” says Roslyn Shenk, eldest daughter of Emiley and husband Joel.

Being able to purchase so many gifts, thanks to the generosity of the church, made a lasting impression on the youth. “I learned that this church can really come and donate when it is needed,” says Dane Yoder, 14, who helped the church treasurer, Amy Bennett (mother to Max), collect donations and complete related accounting tasks.

Over the course of that December, the youth saw just how many people — close to home and around the world — could use a helping hand, kind gesture or listening ear. “I learned that there’s a lot more poverty than I thought, and I want to learn how to help everybody,” says Max Bennett.

But they also saw just how many ways there were to make a difference. “I learned that I really enjoy giving, and I didn’t kind of realize that until I started doing it for more people,” says Roslyn Shenk. “It feels really good because it feels like I’m belonging to something bigger than myself.”