Building All Children had our Annual Benefit Dinner on October 4th, 2015 at the Church at Midtown. It took an amazing group of volunteers to plan and prepare for this evening, but I had no idea what God had in store…it was perfect!
Our guests were greeted outside by these two lovely ladies. The Oklahoma weather was so pleasant, and when I went to check on things, the line was curving around the buildings. I couldn’t believe the turnout, and I just remember whispering “thank you, God!” We had planned a night that people would remember! I ended up staying outside and visiting with friends and meeting their friends…learning about new people and sharing old stories! Honestly, I could have stayed out there the entire evening! I loved getting to meet everyone and giving hugs.
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The food was AMAZING! McNellie’s donated ALL the food for the evening, and Melissa Mackey, Sue Rankin, and Jana Kohler organized and added their special touches to make the meal perfect. We had just enough! We planned for more food than our expected turnout, but God had bigger plans! The turnout was great, and the food was wonderful!
One of my favorite parts about the evening was that we wanted to “serve” our guests. So we had several children wearing our ‘build’ t-shirts, and they did a fabulous job serving. They stayed busy pouring drinks, taking plates, and helping our guests feel comfortable. This ministry is about helping children, and we are doing it in so many different ways. I LOVED seeing these children work hard and serving the adults! Molding Hearts Forever!
The Silent Auction was a huge success! Words cannot express how grateful we are for all the donations that the community provided! Whitney Bennett put hours into making this a success, and she pulled it off. We not only raised funding for our ministry, but our guests left with amazing gifts! It’s always fun to see what the items will go for! Thank you for all of the generous bids and donations!!
I loved meeting new people and seeing them enjoy each other’s company. On each table, we placed printed copies of success stories from families who have been consulting with Building All Children. To see our guests read the stories and learn about our families…well, it was priceless!
The evening was full of real people sharing real-life situations. Building All Children had two families share their life stories and explained how Building All Children has helped them through their journey. These families shared from the heart, and I am so thankful for their boldness and honesty! We all had tears and could deeply feel the passion in the room! The families brought realness into the room. We laughed, cried, and understood on a deeper level what Building All Children is about and the mission behind our day-to-day services for children and families.
During the presentations, I also had the opportunity to share my personal story. Revelations 12 says “they have defeated him by the blood of the lamb and by their testimony.” We wanted to share ‘real’ stories so that we could glorify God and share His wonderful works.
We are thankful for theChurch at Midtown and how they continue to provide for our ministry. Our partnerships with local churches, schools, community, families, and our monthly sponsors are the reason our program is able to help so many children and families. Our hearts are GRATEFUL for all the support! THANK YOU!
The table decorations were created and designed by Cindy Stone. Thank you for all your hard work, Cindy, and for your heart to help children! Stories were all around the room! Building All Children is about stories…stories of real people, real children, real families!
The sponsorship program took off again this year. We had several children sponsored, and we are ready to do the work! “‘Let us arise and build,’ so they put their hands to the good work.” Nehemiah 2:18
These “Build” tokens were designed and created by Twisted Soul Sisters. The tokens are uniquely handmade, and everyone of them is different, because we believe that every child is uniquely created. When a family decides to donate funds to sponsor a child through BAC, the donor family receives a Build token. It’s our hope that the token will remind the sponsoring family to pray for the child they sponsored! Child sponsorship is about families building other families! It is a HUGE blessing to be able to tell a family in need of services that their child has already been sponsored! I have had moms cry when I get to tell them this…
A special thank you to Randy Yeates Photography for capturing the evening!
Thank you Kelsey Nail, Tyler Griffin, and Sarah Balch for helping to make the evening run smoothly!