Our friends up north in Holland, Michigan have been doing incredible work fundraising to support the life-changing work of our partners in Africa. We wish we could highlight every single one of them, but for now, here are a few examples of how they’ve gotten their whole community involved!

A little background information: every year in the spring, Holland has a Tulip Time Festival, where the town can look forward to seeing the colorful bulbs in full bloom. Because of the situation with COVID-19, they were unable to hold the festival, however the long-time owners of Sonscreens – our very generous supporters, the Fergusons – decided they still wanted to make this year’s “festival” special for their community (as they have in years past when the festival faced difficulties).

So together, their team created the “Tulip Talk 2020” t-shirt to create a fun and unique memory for this very odd year, a way to remember the beloved festival that wasn’t able to happen, and a way to give back to their community. Thanks to cartoonist Wade Gugino (who told us about this wonderful opportunity), they were able to turn the idea into a reality. These shirts are still available for purchase until they run out!

In addition, all proceeds from Sonscreens will go toward the work of Blood:Water’s African partners and Barnabas Ministries in nearby Zeeland, Michigan, which “is passionately committed to reaching high risk youth and families with the message of freedom, hope, and healing in Jesus Christ.”

If you’d like to add to the conversation, you can use #MaySadness which is a “sigh for the festival fun we’re sad to be missing,” in the words of Mr. Gugino. “This is a community of people with serious ingenuity, and every year I see something new at the festival that really impresses me. So I’ll miss that. And the smiling faces of my kids in the parades.” For the disappointed residents of Holland, this is a way to share stories about Tulip Time in years past and to celebrate the next year to come.

In other news, we received some of the most special gifts we have ever gotten so we had to share this wonderful artwork from some bright young minds in Holland, Michigan. Receiving these brought smiles to our faces and a lot of color into our day. Thanks so much, friends, for your hard work on this and for all of your amazing support!!

Want to get involved and start a fundraiser of your own? Head over to bloodwater.org/makemymove to get started!