Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer–

signaling the beginning of sun-filled days, neighborhood cookouts, and (inevitably) your family’s busy to-do list. If we aren’t intentional, this season can come and go like a flash and leave us in its wake wondering, “Did I really do anything productive this summer?”

This year, take advantage of your summer. Make a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God by setting aside time to bring joy & purpose to orphans.

Here are 6 practical ways to make a difference–

1. Refamiliarize Yourself With the Cause

How can we fight for something if we aren’t familiar with it? Sometimes one of the most impactful things we can do is cultivate a heart for the mission.

Here are a few of our favorite books on adoption and orphan care to add to your summer reading list:

• Adopted for Life (Russell Moore)
• The Connected Child  (Karyn Purvis)
• Orphanology (Tony Merida & Rick Morton)
• Parenting the Hurt Child (Keck & Kupecky)

2. Host a Night of Prayer

Prayer is God’s designed way to see His will accomplished, and it is likely the most impactful thing we can do for children in need. Assemble members of your church for a night devoted to praying for orphans.

Looking for some structure to your evening? Download our FREE prayer guide, designed to help you pray specifically for vulnerable people in your community and around the world.

3. Write a Letter to Your Sponsor Child

There’s no better time than the present to send a special note to your sponsor child. Get your kids involved by having them send pictures and stickers to a child across the world. It seems small to us, but it’s huge to the children who receive them. And who knows what kind of relationships may be formed?

Don’t have a sponsor child? See waiting children here.

4. Plan a Garage Sale/Lemonade Stand Fundraiser

Pull some hidden treasures from your attic and organize a garage sale benefitting a fundraising family, your favorite charity, or your church adoption fund. Encourage your kids to participate by running a lemonade stand or bake sale.

5. Offer Childcare to Adoptive/Foster Parents

Give some adpotive or foster parents the night off by offering to watch their kids for an evening. Take it a step further and involve more people by creating a “date night” opportunity for adoptive/foster parents by providing free childcare at church.

6. Go on a Mission/Vision Trip

But if international travel really doesn’t fit into your schedule, seek out opportunities to go on a local mission trip. Assemble a team to spend a few days completing projects at a foster or vulnerable family’s home. Spend an afternoon volunteering at an organization that supports children in need. If you truly ask God for His eyes, you’ll see tons of needs you can meet right where you are.

May this be your prayer this summer–

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” Psalm 82:3

Change a life today.