Time To Donate Our Christmas Cow!
After all, ‘tis the season of giving.
Today I will purchase a dairy cow. Her cost?
$500.00
No, she won’t be living in my backyard.
Her final destination is determined by need.
This year marks the third in a row our family has forgone exchanging gifts.
Instead, a life-changing animal is donated in honor of my four adult children and their spouses.
A decision none of them regrets.
In 2021, I chose a donation to Heifer International.
Instead of spending five hundred dollars on gifts, I bought a cow.
Our cow went to Kenya that year.
Last year, our cow went to Bangladesh.
The joy and satisfaction this brings is immeasurable!
Struggling families directly benefit from our gifted cows.
Through Heifer’s Market Led Dairy Supply Chain project, these families receive education and equipment.
They learn how to care for their cow and collect milk.
They learn how to produce cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products.
These products feed their families.
They can sell surplus products for steady, reliable income.
How do I know this?
Heifer International, since its founding in 1944, has worked to assist and uplift families out of poverty through education, training, and resources.
“One cow can provide up to four gallons of milk a day, more than enough for hungry families to drink and sell for income,” states the postcard from Heifer.
I first learned of this organization many years ago.
At a wedding reception for our friend’s daughter, there was a card at each place setting.
The card read, “In lieu of favors, we have made a donation to Heifer International.”
I tucked the card in my purse.
For many years it was pinned to the large corkboard in my laundry room.
I never took action.
With every load of wash that needed folding, I was reminded of this generous wedding gift, made in my honor, by the newly married couple.
Thank you, Anna and Joe, for acquainting me with the vital, life-changing work of Heifer.
Because you gifted, I now gift.
My only regret is waiting too long to discover the real meaning of this gift.
“Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”
This is the tenet of Heifer International.
This is why we now choose to donate each Christmas.
We have everything we need at the click of a button or the swipe of a card.
But somewhere, a young mother is wondering how she’ll feed her children today.
You can be the answer to her prayers.
Find out more by visiting heifer.org
© 2023 Bernadette E Wallace
