After visiting Poverty Encounter, students from San Gabriel Community Church turned what they learned into a $1,500 gift for families in need.
Earlier this year, a children’s ministry group from San Gabriel Community Church visited Poverty Encounter. What they experienced stayed with them long after they left. A few months later, several of those students returned to Children’s Hunger Fund carrying a $1,500 donation—and stories of why they felt compelled to help. Their journey began with a closer look at the realities of poverty and led to a lesson they won’t soon forget.
Seeing the Realities of Poverty
For many of the students, Poverty Encounter provided a glimpse into realities they had never considered before. Through immersive exhibits and stories from around the world, they came face-to-face with the challenges millions of children and families experience every day. As they reflected on their visit, several moments stood out—moments that would continue to shape their thinking long after they left.
One of those students was Gwen. The 10-year-old recalled being impacted by the families she learned about and the conditions they faced, particularly a room depicting life in a dump. “I never thought about what other places were experiencing,” she shared.
Brookie was affected by similar realities. While she already knew that poverty existed, seeing people living in junkyards and searching for scraps made poverty feel much more personal.
The experience did more than open their eyes—it helped them see poverty through a new lens. As they learned about children their own age facing hunger and hardship, they began to reflect on their own lives and the blessings they often took for granted. What once felt like a distant problem became impossible to ignore.
Many of the students left with a growing sense that they couldn’t just walk away without doing something with what they had learned. “It really makes me feel like I need to make a difference,” Brookie shared.
“I Had to Do Something”
There is a difference between feeling compassion and taking responsibility to respond. As the students reflected on what they had seen, many felt they couldn’t simply learn about the problem and walk away. Liam described it this way: “I felt like I had a responsibility on me to do something about what I saw.” Gwen shared a similar sentiment, explaining that seeing the struggles the families faced made her want to help.
That desire to act was rooted in something deeper. The students recognized that the children and families they learned about were not simply statistics or stories; they were people created in the image of God. Liam reflected that there was nothing different between himself and the children he learned about, except the resources available to them. That understanding began to reshape how the students viewed their role in helping others.
As they considered what they could do, an important realization emerged: making a difference did not require unlimited resources. Even small acts of kindness and generosity could have a meaningful impact.
A Bake Sale That Became Something Bigger
After returning home, the students didn’t lose sight of their desire to make a difference. The challenge was finding something a group of students could manage successfully. It was Gwen who suggested organizing a bake sale, and the class embraced the idea.
They decided to sell their baked goods at the church’s annual ministry expo. Students and parents contributed by baking brownies, cookies, cinnamon rolls, bread, and other treats. Rather than setting prices, they invited people to donate whatever they wished. As they sold baked goods, the students also shared about Children’s Hunger Fund and the families they hoped to help.
That one bake sale raised $1,500. With no set prices, the students had no expectation of raising that much. Brookie admitted she didn’t even know if they would raise $100. “God was just so amazing to us,” she shared, “and He let us raise so much money.”
More importantly, the fundraiser showed the students that even a simple idea could have a meaningful impact. Gwen remembered learning that just 25 cents can provide a meal, putting the generosity of their church community into perspective. What began as a desire to help had become a tangible reminder that small acts of obedience and compassion can make a real difference.
A Little Act Can Cause So Much Change
What began as a visit to Poverty Encounter ended with far more than a donation. The students who walked into that experience were not the same as those who left. Poverty Encounter inspired them to care about children and families they had never met and, more importantly, to act. Their experience with the bake sale allowed them to see how their passion could inspire others to join them. As their church community rallied around the fundraiser, the students discovered that even a simple idea, offered in service to others, could have a meaningful impact. As Gwen reflected, “A little act can cause so much change.”
