Children from Menno Mennonite participated in My Coins Count. The church raised $1884.81 through offerings collected for My Coins Count that will help fund relief work to those affected by the recent earthquakes in Nepal.
Ritzville, Wash. -- “You are a winner!”…The phrase everyone loves to hear. For the last 11 years, winning is a whole new meaning for church members of Menno Mennonite Church.
Cheers fill the sanctuary as “winners” are drawn for matching donors of ten percent of the weekly money collected in offerings for My Coins Count. This year the church raised $1884.81 that will help fund relief work to those affected by the recent earthquakes in Nepal.
Each year, spare change collected through My Coins Count by churches, children and families add up to almost $720,000 for Mennonite Central Committee’s work around the world.
Mid-August starts the four week My Coins Count campaign at Menno Mennonite. Families bring their collected coins to church. You’ll hear the clickety–clack sounds of the coins dropping in the colorful sand buckets used as offering baskets as the church sings the My Coins Count song.
Many church members are delighted to give their name in the weekly drawing as a matching donor of ten percent of the offering.
Children participate in the offering taken for My Coins Count at Menno Mennonite Church in Ritzville, WA. Photo Courtesy of Katherine Swinger
Since 2009, the church has raised $11,523.95 to support MCC projects such as hospitals in Congo, books for children in Nicaragua, and relief efforts for Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Katherine Swinger, member of Menno Mennonite, organized the campaign this year. The children’s story time is used to share about the selected MCC project so the children understand where the money will go. She said the children are learning how to have compassion for the needs of others.
“I think they are making the connection…that all this is done in the name of Christ.” Swinger said.
Pastor Matthew Yoder of Menno Mennonite said the church participates in My Coins Count because of their “strong ties and deep commitment to MCC” and wants this tradition to continue. The campaign also helps build up the excitement about the 38th annual Mennonite Auction and Relief sale.
“We want to pass on the MCC relationship and help inculcate the values of service and stewardship to our children.” Yoder said.
Join the fun, intergenerational movement to collect coins to support the MCC programs of relief, development and peace around the world. To find out more about My Coins Count, visit our website.
