Making a Difference

For Jeff and Carinda Beard, growing their family through adoption has been always been a whole family affair. On their first of three adoption trips, the Beards took their five children with them to China. Traveling together as a family not only gave their children a special perspective on their adoption story, it also gave them a much bigger view of the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children around the world. Orphans halfway around the world were no longer nameless and faceless to the Beard kids. These precious image bearers of God were children that they knew personally. Knowing that most orphaned children will never know the love of a family or of the gospel of Christ, the Beard children developed a passion for helping orphaned and vulnerable children.

Now as a family of 13, Stand for Orphans® has become a way for the Beards to make a difference to vulnerable children, and the Beards are a great example of how families can be creative in how they participate. They do not live in a neighborhood conducive to a lemonade stand, so they considered ideas that would work for their family. “We have a few small beehives that we maintain throughout the year. Every summer, the bees provide our family with hundreds of pounds of honey, so it is a perfect opportunity to raise funds and awareness for Lifeline by hosting a virtual Stand for Orphans honey sale.”

Their three oldest boys get together with a few friends once or twice a summer to pull, extract, bottle, and label the honey themselves. They sell each bottle for $10-$15 at a local feed store and to friends and family through a virtual honey stand. The proceeds of their sales are donated to Lifeline’s Stand for Orphans Initiative. Through their efforts, the Beard kids are taking a stand for orphans and using their platform to give a voice to voiceless kids around the world.

The Beard’s story illustrates that there is no one right way to participate in Stand for Orphans. Like Carinda says, making a stand “doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just focus on whatever are your family’s unique gifts or creations–[anything] that you could allow your children to sell to raise funds and awareness for the amazing work Lifeline is doing around the world. In our family, the biggest reward in participating in Stand for Orphans hasn’t been the money raised but seeing God work in our children’s hearts.”

Stand for Orphans is a ministry by kids, for kids to raise needed funds and awareness to care for orphaned and vulnerable children here and around the world. Now is the perfect time for your kids to “make a stand to take a stand.” To learn more about Stand for Orphans and to download your free printable Stand for Orphans Kit visit lifelinechild.org/stand.