The Birdsong family knows how much the little things can mean. In 1999, 2-year-old Sarah Birdsong underwent heart surgery at UAB Hospital in Birmingham. Now, at age 11, she, her family and her church family are finding ways to help those in similar circumstances.
Sarah; her mom, Karla; and six other girls from the Girls in Action (GA) of First Baptist Church, Montevallo, in Shelby Baptist Association spent the months of May and June raising money to buy teddy bears for the hospital’s pediatric cardiology unit.
By holding bake and craft sales at the church, the girls raised enough money to buy 24 bears, along with various clothes and accessories.
“My favorite part was buying the clothes,” said Rebekah Rotenberry, one of the girls involved in the project. “We got to decorate them and make them all different.”
On June 30, the GAs delivered the bears to the cardiology unit, where they were distributed to the patients.
“Our family knows personally how much small things like this project means to families that are facing difficult times,” said Karla Birdsong, who serves as the GA leader at First, Montevallo. “The project was a huge success.”
Beyond the joy of giving to those in need, Birdsong said the goal of the project was to show the GAs that it is possible to do missions anywhere.
“They learned to show the love of Christ through giving to others,” she said. “Hopefully the project will help foster a missions lifestyle in each of the girls.”
And according to Suzannah Rotenberry, another one of the girls involved in the project, the experience also showed how giving really is better than receiving. “Receiving always is a bit selfish,” she said. “But giving always make you feel so much better afterward.”
Birdsong said she hopes the GAs will have the opportunity to do the bear project again next summer. (TAB)
Share with others: