Students in the senior high youth group at Christ the King Church (CKC) in Oxford decided recently to raise funds for an organization by holding a tent sale, but they weren’t really sure of where the money would be donated.
That is until someone higher up seemed to drop an idea ‘at their doorstep.?
Clarkston resident and CKC youth member Ashley Dasuqi, 17, said a friend of her mother sent out an e-mail seeking help to send her son to Camp Discovery, which is a summer camp for children with epilepsy.
Two months before that, a woman from the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan (EFM) had spoken to the youth group about epilepsy.
Coincidence?
Dasuqi doesn’t think so.
‘It was kind of like God was already preparing our hearts for just being open to the whole thing,? she said.
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition characterized by seizures that recur over time.
According to the EFM website, over 100,000 people in Michigan have epilepsy.
Camp Discovery, located in Mattawan, provides the children with a safe, structured and encouraging visit, with activities like horseback riding, swimming and evening camp fires.
Dasuqi said the youth group’s goal is to send as many campers as possible and that it costs $500 per person. The Detroit Free Press has also agreed to match the tent sale profits up to $1,500.
The CKC youth group will hold it’s tent sale on Friday, May 26, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, May 27, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Oxford United Methodist Church (21 E. Burdick St.) due to ongoing construction at CKC.
They’re looking for valuable items from the community, like kitchen items, clothes, electronics and appliances that aren’t ‘junk.?
Donations should be dropped off at the New Life Chapel, behind CKC.
Dasuqi said the youth group thought it was important to focus their fund-raising efforts outside of the church instead of inward.
‘That’s good, but I think it’s also really important to get out in the community,? she said.