Hope and Faith: Georgia Twins with Shared Goal of Helping The Poor
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (July 9, 2018) Take a giving heart, stir in love and compassion and a desire to help others and you have the ingredients to transform the lives of those in dire need.
That’s exactly what Hope and Faith Sandstrom of Roswell, Ga., set out to do using their baking skills. The twin 9-year-old girls have been holding bake sales to raise money to build a home for a destitute family in Haiti through Food For The Poor.
Hope and Faith, who will be in fourth grade this fall, say they were inspired by a Citizen Kid by Disney video in which an 8-year-old girl raised money from a lemonade stand in New York City’s Times Square for a nonprofit organization dedicated to fight human trafficking.
“We knew we wanted to make a difference and do something to help people in need,” said Faith.
After watching the video, the girls asked their parents if they also could raise money for a good cause.
“They said, ‘Dad, can we do something like that?’ I said, ‘Sure we can.'” David Sandstrom recalled. “From the start, it was important that we align with a Christian ministry. We started researching charities online. The girls were touched by the way Food For The Poor empowers people.”
As they browsed the charity’s online gift catalog, Hope and Faith read how they could buy chickens or a goat for a family in need or a soccer ball to bring joy to children their age. But the girls wanted to do something bigger. When they saw they could raise money for a house, they knew immediately that was what they wanted to do.
“It makes me sad that there are people living without a home,” said Hope.
For the past month, the twins have held five bake sales in front of DoJo Karate and Trader Joe’s in Roswell. Part of their experience took them to City Hall to get a permit to hold their bake sales.
“The amount of money we needed to raise didn’t bother them one bit,” their father recalled. “They just said, ‘Let’s do this.'”
The girls baked brownies, sugar cookies, Rice Krispies treats and chocolate chip cookies, the latter being a crowd favorite, according to Hope. So far, they’re more than half way to meeting their $3,600 fundraising goal.
“It feels good that we’re doing something to help others,” said Faith.
Hope added, “It’s exciting that we can help give people a happy life and a safe home.”
The sturdy two-room home built by Hope and Faith will be constructed with concrete block, a poured concrete foundation, a zinc roof and a door that locks, providing safety and security for a family currently living in a shack without any protection from the elements. The home also will be powered with solar energy and equipped with sanitation.
“It’s always heartwarming to hear stories of how our donors are helping to transform the lives of the poor families in the countries where we serve, but there’s something especially endearing when the donors are very young,” said Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma.
“Young people like Hope and Faith are the future and their kindness and generosity will make a lasting impact on a family in Haiti for generations to come,” Aloma said.
The Sandstroms hope they can travel with Food For The Poor to Haiti to see the house once it’s built and meet the family whose lives they will have changed.
“It’s what Jesus commands us to do, to care for the least of these,” said Michele Sandstrom, the girls’ mother. “That’s what really matters.”
To donate to Hope and Faith’s project, go to www.FoodForThePoor.org/hopeandfaith.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]