Creating "Good Childhood Memories" for Inner-City Children

When I was a child, I LOVED holidays. I still do. Every Easter we would dye eggs and have Easter egg hunts at home and at church.

yep...this is baby Morgan :)

What happened to my cute little curls?

 Easter morning was almost like Christmas as we awoke very early to see if the Easter Bunny had come.  I remember one Easter in particular when I was probably about 7 years old, I kept getting up in the middle of the night to check and see if our baskets were filled. As I crept quietly down the dark hallway I was disappointed time after time as the empty baskets were still waiting to be filled with toys and candy. My wide-eyed, hope-filled glances around the corner to the dining room table were met with disappointment time after time. However, the last time I got up, as I crept down the hallway being sure not to wake up my parents, I saw what looked to me, like a big and furry white paw that was wrapped around the door frame. I ran back to my room, jumped in my bed, and pulled the covers up over my face. My heart raced, "The Easter Bunny was there IN.MY.HOUSE. I had JUST seen his GIANT WHITE PAW." I dare not try to go back and check my basket because I thought if he saw me, he'd take it back.  In the morning, I walked with confidence to the dining room, knowing my basket was filled because I had seen with my own two eyes.

Now...obviously, it was my own imagination that made me believe I saw the Easter Bunny, but it is a memory I hold dear to me as an adult because of the child-like faith I had. Actually, I was so convinced of what I had seen that I often questioned if my Dad had rented the whole outfit JUST in case I saw him. Ha! As I was flipping through old photo albums last night looking for "Easter Pictures", I smiled as I saw pictures of birthday parties, Christmas morning, school events, family gatherings. All of the pictures made me smile and brought back fond memories.

I can't help but wonder, as I type this, if most of our current children and youth that we work with would have a similar experience? As adults, will they 1)even have a photo album to flip back through and 2) have "good" childhood memories of Christmas mornings, Easter Egg Hunts, Family Gatherings, Field trips, etc.?  I can tell you that for some, their childhoods are heartbreaking, traumatizing, and something they'd rather forget as adults. As frustrating as it is, I can't control that.  Rescue Atlanta is committed to doing all that we can to create positive experiences for children. We try to do our part to give them some of the "normal" experiences that they may not otherwise experience. Every Christmas we partner with individuals and churches to "Adopt a Child" for Christmas. That way they have a Christmas list and have something to open on Christmas morning. We are starting something new called Birthday Blessings, where birthdays will be celebrated and a small gift/devotional/candy will be given to "celebrate them." And Coming up in the very near future, we will be celebrating Easter. One of the things we will do is to have a MASSIVE Easter Egg hunt with over 1,000 plastic eggs. The eggs will be stuffed with candy and small novelty toys like stickers, bouncy balls, stamps. We try to fill some of them with "Easter" items (i.e. Christian themed items). The saying "It takes a Village to raise a child" is true. And it takes just as many to create programs and opportunities for them. We need the help of the "village" to create ways to celebrate the "child." Because they are a  CHILD of GOD and we want to lavish them in tangible ways with the LOVE of their Father.

Would you like to help add a "photograph" to a child's album of "Good Chilldhood Memories?"

It costs us about $400 to provide this "experience" for ALL of our kids. That amounts to about $5 per child on a "Holiday" Sunday.

Here is our "Needs" List:
1. 1,000 plastic eggs. (Various colors/printed eggs always make it fun.
2. Trinket's like stickers, bouncy balls, etc
3. Individually Wrapped Candy
4. Prizes like chocolate bunnies or small easter baskets already filled.
5. OR Donations towards the cause.

If you are have any of those items left over from a previous egg hunt, carnival or VBS and would like to donate them, purchase any listed items,  OR simply make a donation to the cause please let me (MORGAN) know ahead of time so we don't duplicate items. Simply Email me at morgan@rescueatlanta.com or call 404.242.3372.

We need to have any donations or knowledge of donations by March 15 so we know what we have left to order.

Just think about the stories these kids could tell about their "childhood Easter Egg Hunts" :) And we know that we get the opportunity to share the Story of Christ's love for them on that special day.

For His Renown,
Morgan