Zachary Chandler, a 17 year-old boy from Battleground, Washington, took a Kingdom Assignment and earned money for homeless teens.
Chandler is a senior this year at Battle Ground High School. Like the others, he was given $100. Chandler used his seed money to grow it upward to $1,000 by serving an Italian fundraising dinner. He recruited the Columbia Academy cook, while community members and the local congregation supported the event and spread the word.
Chandler used the funds to found the Battle Ground High School Student Support Team (BG HSSST), a group dedicated to helping the school's homeless and needy students. The BG HSST was able to form an account with the local Fred Meyer store, who gave an additional $5,000. The funds donated, along with what was raised, have been able to support more than 150 homeless students, providing them with clothing, school supplies and city bus passes.
Chandler currently recruits youth to fund raising events. "I have had an amazing amount of support not only from my church but the community and fellow students, " says Chandler.
Working with a liaison through the school system, he continues this KA today. Chandler plans to get a charitable account and continue helping fellow classmates. He recently enlisted in the Army as a chaplain's assistant to obtain funding and experience to become a pastor. He is also an ordained deacon in his church.
According to Rhonda Whitney, the Oregon Conference gave out $5,000 in chunks of $500 to the first ten churches who requested it. Initial reports from just three churches say they raised a total of $28,840.
The response has been so overwhelming, two weeks ago a Meadow Glade member gave $1000 to repeat the project there with another ten teams. "It has been great to see the support from the church community and our local community in general," says Jim Bollin, pastor. "As people have partnered with God, they have seen His hand at work, and their faith has grown."
