Kettering College to host second annual BeadforLife event Dec. 6-8
Kettering, Ohio (Dec. 1) – Kettering College will sponsor its second annual BeadforLife event from Monday, Dec. 6, through Wednesday, Dec. 8. In support of this organization, college faculty and staff will be selling necklaces, bracelets, earrings and shea butter soap and lip balm – all Ugandan-made – from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each day in the lobby outside the cafeteria on the ground floor of Kettering Medical Center.
BeadforLife (BFL) is a socially responsible global organization working with women, all of whomwere living on less than $1 a day in extreme poverty. Based in North America and Uganda, BFL has partnered with industrious women who make vivid beaded jewelry out of recycled paper.
Coordinated by Kettering College English professor Jill Evans, last year’s BeadforLife event at the school raised almost $5000 for the organization.
“There are so many problems in this world — poverty, war, sickness, hurt of all kinds, that it is easy or even natural to say ‘I can’t make a difference.’ Although that may be true, I think it is also true that we sometimes allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the huge scope of human suffering, which often results in us doing nothing,” said Evans, who is heading the fundraiser for the second year in a row. “Bead for Life is my way of doing ‘something.’ It certainly will not save the world, but it might save one or two or three.
“I want to be the kind of person who walks around with my eyes open. I want Kettering College to be the kind of school that reaches out to help. I want to be part of an organization that looks outside of itself to fulfill a greater mission and to be, in a small way, the hands and feet of Jesus. I believe that giving to people who cannot give back is an essential part of spirituality. We may not save the world, but we can work toward preserving one small part of it. And in the process, maybe, we save ourselves.”
The beaders’ work has been sold at thousands of home parties, businesses and community-sponsored events around the world. All net profits from BFL sales are invested in projects that fight extreme poverty, primarily in health care, affordable housing, vocational training for impoverished youth, and entrepreneurial development through micro-credit for small businesses. More information about BeadforLife can be found at www.beadforlife.org.
About Kettering College
Kettering College, born out of Adventist faith, is a fully accredited college that offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in health science education. Upholding Christ, the college educates students to make service a life calling and to view health as harmony with God in body, mind, and spirit. A division of Kettering Medical Center, Kettering College is located on the KMC campus in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio. Eighty percent of Kettering College graduates live and work in Ohio, with the majority settling in the Dayton area.
