Fish Booth Addition was Inspired!

Kyle Christenson came to the first Living Gift Market and decided something was missing. We needed a fish booth! Kyle loves to fish, so he felt that we needed to know more about how fish contribute to the end of world hunger.
This year, Gambusia fish will be sent to the Navajo project. Gambusia fish are voracious eaters of mosquitoes and their larvae. Fish are often used in Heifer's Urban projects. The Living Machine aquaponic trough system provides space for a horticultural crop to be grown as well as the fish, either for personal consumption or for sale. These are just a few examples culled from Heifer projects that utilize fish.
Come to the market and get the full scoop on fish. Thanks, Kyle, for inspiring us. If you're feeling inspired to sponsor a booth, the fish booth is still available.

Three or Four Nickels

Here is a sample of the daily readings from the four-week calendar that forms the backbone of the Change for Kids Challenge. Every night as families sit down to dinner they have a little paragraph like this one to read and a giving challenge.
Teaching children about world hunger is a difficult task for any parent to undertake. The Heifer Fill the Ark Calendar and Bank helps parents present the problem with enough hope that children come away from the experience feeling empowered instead of overwhelmed. Three or four nickels is all it takes to help children begin to understand the importance of helping others.
Won't you as a church family undertake to help your children begin the lifelong habit of remembering those who won't be eating before they sit down to dinner? One little boy put his lunch in Jesus hands and 5,000 were fed. Let's see what God will do with your children's spare change.

Goat Booth Welcomes Change for Kids Challenge Participants

Jean Kuhlman, a market veteran and Judy Hyunh's sister, heads up our goat booth. Her granddaughter, Ali Chipman, has a good 4H goat that she brings to the market, and her grandmother prepares the booth. When I asked Jean what she liked best about goats, she said it was their versatility. Goats are easy to raise and fun.
Although they appear tough and gruff, goats are actually so gentle that it's usually the family's children who regularly care for them. In this way, goats really do become "nannies;" teaching their young caregivers all kinds of skills while building their self-esteem.
More and more children around the world are getting their protein from goat's milk. That's because goats thrive in extreme climates where other livestock can't, and eat grasses and leaves that cause other animals to turn up their noses (or snouts)! And if it's a Heifer goat, one struggling family can receive up to a gallon of milk from it every single day. That's more than enough milk not only to drink, but to use to make cheese, butter or yogurt, plus to sell whatever's left and buy much-needed clothes, school supplies and medicine.
We're sure that Jean and Ali will be busy this year as the children who have been saving up change for the Change for Kids Challenge drop by to see this year's star animal--the goat.
The goat booth is sponsored by Grand River Physical Therapy this year.

Change for Kids Challenge Update

In order to help churches get to the information about the Change for Kids Challenge more directly, I've created a special blog just for this aspect of Heifer Happening. As churches sign up, I'll post that information there, as well as details of the contest.
You can view the blog at http://changeforkids.blogspot.com/.

LaFont sees the Ducks and Geese. Sheep go Underground.

The LaFontsee Gallery/Underground Studio is sponsoring both the Ducks and Geese booth and the Sheep booth. An eye for truth and beauty inspired these important members of the local art scene to see the value of ending hunger. The LaFontsee Gallery is no newcomer to charitable activities. They are currently involved in supporting numerous charities of many sorts including God's Kitchen, Gilda's Club, and the Urban Institute for the Contemporary Arts.
Ducks and sheep will be given to the Navajo Project. The ducks will be part of an early detection system for the West Nile Virus, allowing the community to take action against the spread of the disease before it reaches levels threatening to humans and larger livestock. The sheep are part of a selective breeding program that aims to improve the genes of the local sheep herd.
Thank you, LaFontsee Galleries, for having the vision to provide hope.

All a Buzz about the Cow Booth

Carolyn Buskirk has the warm knowing voice of a grandmother. As we settled into our conversation about the cow booth, it was obvious that she loves working at the market. Carolyn has been a part of Heifer Happening since the first market when KeLinda Scott asked if there was anyone who could help with the animal booths. The Buskirks had been dairy farmers, so Carolyn took on the cow booth.
Making it fun for the children who come to the market was one of Carolyn's first considerations so she incorporated a game. "I enjoy the little children and watching them play the game I made for the booth. The game is a wheel with a spinner divided up into the different Heifer animals. Each child gets five spins of the wheel and if it lands on the cow they get a prize. They almost always get a prize even if it doesn’t land on the cow," she says with a chuckle.
Carolyn also values the opportunity to help people understand the importance of cows, and the value of milk. A single Heifer cow can deliver up to four gallons of protein-packed milk every day. Giving one of these cows to a hungry family changes their lives. These four gallons of milk provide children with the nourishment they need to head off to school. A school that many children are able to attend only because of their Heifer cow. Income earned by selling surplus milk pays for tuition as well as medicine, clothing and better housing.
Heifer cows can help crops grow. They are after all a natural fertilizer factory. Because a healthy cow can have a calf every year, the gift of a cow could eventually help an entire community move from poverty to self-reliance.
Brann's Steakhouse is proudly sponsoring the cow booth this year, and they've provided Carolyn with coupons for the first 100 visitors. Make sure you stop by the cow booth early.

Our First Press Kit is Finished and Available

For the first time, we are offering the media a press kit. We have gathered together all the details of the Living Gift Market including photos, interviews with market volunteers, and other useful information. Writers and members of the media may request one through our email address, heiferhappening@gmail.com. One kit per media outlet only. Thanks.