Young Mennonites demonstrate ‘spirit of generosity’

April 9, 2014 | Young Voices
Rachel Bergen | Young Voices Co-editor

The Mennonite Foundation of Canada (MFC) recently awarded 17 youth and young adults for work they did in the spirit of generosity.

The Spirit of Generosity Award is given to one student—or group of students—in each of the Christian secondary and post-secondary schools, colleges and universities in Mennonite Foundation’s participating conferences across Canada. Students are chosen who demonstrate a generous nature and have expressed their generosity in a remarkable way during the year. Winners gets $450, with half of it going to a charitable organization of their choice. This year, $6,300 goes to charities across Canada and around the world.

“It is our hope that the Spirit of Generosity Award program will nurture faithful joyful giving among today’s young people in the church,” says Darren Pries-Klassen, the MFC’s executive director.

Four University of Waterloo students who are affiliated with Conrad Grebel University College won the award for their role in orchestrating the successful production of a musical version of Anne of Green Gables. Rachel Dyck, Rachel Pauls, Rachel Urban-Shipley and Sarah Brnjas worked tirelessly for a year to organize the musical and were awarded by Grebel for being generous with their time.

Dyck, 21, is an English major at the University of Waterloo. On behalf of the group, she says organizing the musical was very rewarding: “We started talking about it a year before it happened. That’s how much time it takes. It was worth it because it was a really significant community event.” Students from a variety of programs at Grebel came together to put on the show.

Dyck says the four are donating their money to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario because they all believe MCC’s mission and values align with their own.

Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg nominated music student Dennis Giesbrecht for his generous spirit. The Paraguayan-born 25-year-old worked in Low-German ministry for the last few years. He was even part of a group that recorded a Low German CD, toured Low-German-speaking churches in Western Canada in 2012, and used the proceeds to buy radio equipment for a Bolivian radio station.

“This [the award] just made me aware of how much of an impact my life can have on others,” he says. “At the same time, it was a big encouragement for me to keep doing what I’m doing and put even more effort into being generous, not just with my time and energy.”

Giesbrecht is donating his money to the Global Family Foundation, a charity in Paraguay that provides education to low-income youth to help them away from violence. He hopes to work with the organization in the future when he moves back to Paraguay.

The Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) in Abbotsford, B.C., nominated 18-year-old Raina Cameron for the award. She went on a school mission trip to Thailand when she was 16 and on a church mission trip to Guatemala the following year. Both trips involved working with children’s camps.

Cameron says MEI has lots of opportunities for students to get involved in the community, and she tries to volunteer as much as she can. “Whenever I had free time, I started going and seeing what things were all about,” she says. “And quickly I learned how amazing it is to volunteer and see so many different projects that really help in the lives of people in our community.”

Cameron is now living in Alsace, France, where she continues to serve with a youth group, a refugee camp and other initiatives.

“It was a real honour to receive the award because it is often service like this that gets unnoticed,” she says.

See the list of recipients and their chosen charities here.

--Posted April 9, 2014

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