There are many ways to give back to a community, such as fundraising and going on mission trips. Senior Madi Nash attends a church conference every year that sponsors CIY (Christ of Youth). Attendance at this conference allowed Nash to plan a mission trip to northern Ireland.
“My church that I go to goes to a conference every year called CIY camp,” Nash said. “We go to a conference every year at the UNO campus for a week. It is a conference that sponsors and runs CIY. It is a really cool organization and they have a bunch of different programs. The program specifically that I go on my mission trips through is called Engage.”
Nash, for example, first started fundraising and going on mission trips in 2018. She organized a useful fundraising event selling Butter Braids and other fundraisers to get the money for her Northern Ireland trip.
“A month after I signed up for my CIY trip in August 2018, I did my first fundraiser where I sold Butter Braids,” Nash said. “My mom’s cousin has her own business, and she helped me sell some of her products and gave me a portion of the money made. She also sponsored a roller skating fundraiser for me, and that is what got me the rest of my money for the Northern Ireland trip.”
Eventually, Nash made the money to pay for her first mission trip to Northern Ireland. While there, she was able to meet new people from different backgrounds and see different and exciting things.
“My first mission trip I went to Northern Ireland,” Nash said. “We got to serve in a youth center there. We also got to do a lot of sightseeing but we got to go and connect with teens that are over there and share our testimonies with them and be able to connect and relate with them a little bit.”
After her first mission trip, Nash started fundraising for and planning her next mission trip to Honduras. Nash is in the process of fundraising money from selling Butter Braids to sending out letters.
“For my Honduras trip, I also sold Butter Braids again and I’ve also just been collecting donations,” Nash said. “I would send out letters to family and friends just explaining what my mission is going to be and what I would be doing. So family and friends have just mailed me money.”
Just last Saturday, Nash hosted an outdoor movie night to raise money for her next mission trip, His Eyes Honduras. However, the money she raised would be going towards something else.
“This past Saturday October 3, I did an outdoor movie night fundraiser,” Nash said. “It wasn’t directly towards the cost of my trip, but it was being sent to the organization His Eyes Honduras that I will be serving next summer in Honduras so that they can buy more land to build a new medical center so that people can get the healthcare that they need.”
Although Nash’s goal is to raise money for these companies and the cost of her mission trips, she has always had a bigger goal in mind. Holding these fundraisers has made her realize that people have her back.
“I fundraise money to be able to go on these trips but it is also a goal that I set in my mind,” Nash said. “It helps me realize how many people actually have my back. People who I haven’t talked to in my family for years remind me that they are still thinking about me and they are praying for me as I go on these trips and they are actually caring about what I do. It is crazy to realize how many people are in my life that are supporting me through it.”
Being able to give back to others is something Nash always wanted to do. Seeing others who are less fortunate than her has inspired her to keep giving back.
“I just like being able to serve others,” Nash said. “That’s just always been in my heart and after going to church conferences and seeing how some people have less and how they don’t have as much stuff as I do, I just want to find ways to give back to other people. It just makes me feel good.”
Although fundraising can be difficult work, being able to raise the money and go on these mission trips motivates Nash to keep fundraising. Nash continues to participate in fundraising even in these uncertain times. It has shown her that in the end, people will have her back.