Summer! Warm days, no school, ice cream, hanging out with friends, swimming in the pool, flip-flops..."it's the most wonderful time of the year," right?
That is, until you remember that many poor kids have not warm days but burning hot days (with no air-conditioning). Others face biting cold every night and lack the means to keep themselves adeuqately warm. These are kids who may never get to go to school, never learn to read, never have an education to fit a job that could pull them up from poverty. Ice cream is a luxury when you're trying to feed a family on less than $2 a day in a third-world country, and the neighborhood pool is a natural body of water that may also serve as a bathtub or drinking water source. Flip-flops? No way. Callouses do the job for children who can't afford a single pair shoes.
Suddenly, summer looks a little different.
Many highschoolers look for summer jobs as a way to earn money for themselves. Babysitting, flipping burgers at your local fast-food place, and bagging countless groceries are just a few of the ways students pay for things they "need": a ticket to the newest movie, that cute pair of shoes, a brand-new skateboard.
It's not bad to want shoes. It's not bad to want to look good. When you buy your hundreth pair of shoes and a dozen pairs of jeans that you don't end up wearing, when a child in another country goes another day without the shoes and clothes they need to stay healthy (things you are capable of providing) - that's when materialism gets out of hand.
Why not spend your summer money with a more eternal perspective?
My favorite shopping location: ChildrensHungerFund.org. Ten cents can place Gospel literature in a Children's Hunger Fund FoodPak, filling both the stomach and the soul of someone in need. Provide soap, shampoo, toothpaste, a toothbrush, shaving supplies, and more to a person who can't afford it for only $16 (that's about two hours of work at minimum wage). Shoes for someone in need are just 20 cents, and a backpack is just $7.
For students with already "tight" budget strings, that's a great place to start.
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