As the Times Square ball makes its famous drop, it helps usher in a new year, full of hope and promise. As we turn the calendar, what are your resolutions for 2020? If you’re not sure yet what to pursue, here are some ideas to help guide you into the new year.
1. Lose weight — for a cause.
It’s tried and true, and a pretty common resolution, but what if this year was the year that you didn’t resolve to lose weight because you wanted to better yourself? What if you did it so you could better children and families who don’t have access to clean water?
Each May, thousands of people around the world unite in walking or running World Vision’s Global 6K for Water. Why a 6K? Because that’s the average distance women and children in developing countries walk daily to collect water, which is often contaminated with life-threatening diseases. Your sign-up fee will provide clean water for one person, and you can walk or run, so you can train at a pace that’s comfortable for you.
If a 6K seems too easy for you, might we challenge you to a half-marathon or even a marathon? Team World Vision is passionate about bringing clean water to communities around the world, and they do it through running groups across the country. Join one of them in changing the world while you drop some pounds and improve your health.
2. Empower a child.
Think back to the first big choice your parents let you make and how it made you feel. All around the world, children living in poverty don’t have choices. They lack multiple sets of clothes, so they don’t get to choose their outfit each day. They struggle to get an education, so dreaming of what to be when they grow up seems out of reach. Families don’t have enough to eat, so they don’t get to choose what they want their mom to cook for dinner.
World Vision wanted to give them agency, so in 2019, we decided to put the power to choose in a child’s hands. For the first time, children now have the opportunity to choose their sponsor — and if you sign up to be chosen, the person they select could be you!
Child sponsorship creates a future full of choices, and because of World Vision’s community-focused solutions, for each child you help, four more benefit too.
3. Improve your prayer life.
God asks us to pray always, in all circumstances, and without ceasing. That’s a tall order, so no matter how much we pray, we can always grow in this area. Maybe this is the year to focus on that challenge.
If you want to grow in how you talk to God this year, our founder’s daughter — a prayer warrior herself — can help you. If your heart is burdened for specific issues or regions of the world, we have myriad prayer guides that can lead you in your prayers as well.
4. Become an ambassador.
Do you wish you could sponsor hundreds of kids? Do you love talking about how sponsorship changes children’s lives as well as your own? Do you want to help children around the world get a sponsor?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should become a Child Ambassador and put your faith into action! World Vision’s Child Ambassadors are a group of committed volunteers who share about child sponsorship with their friends, families, churches, and small groups — really anyone who will listen — and inspire others to sponsor children with World Vision too.
5. Give your time.
Did you know there are ways you can volunteer with World Vision? We have warehouses in several cities across the country that need help sorting donated items, stocking shelves, and staffing local events. You could be the hands and feet of Jesus to help.
Or maybe you don’t live near one of our warehouses, but we have an event coming to a city near you. We’re always looking for volunteers to help at concerts and other events.
6. Lead your local community — while changing the world.
Why not use your skills this year to organize a kit build for your church, business, or community? We have several different types of kits, so you can choose one that relates to what you’re most passionate about.
The kits are then distributed in the U.S. and around the world to help children and families in need, so you are not only leading in your local community but also changing the world while you do it.
Local leaders like you have helped assemble more than 1 million kits with World Vision. Help us work toward 2 million!
7. Be a positive contribution to the political process.
Let’s admit the obvious. Politics is a tricky business. But we have a part to play according to God’s Word.
Did you know that God calls us to advocate for the poor? Maybe you think you can’t do a whole lot, but there’s so much more you can do to advocate for others than you might imagine. World Vision’s advocacy team can train people like you to help educate your elected officials and advocate for their support on issues that impact people living in extreme poverty.
God’s Word also tells us to pray for our elected officials. The president and other offices will be voted on in 2020, so join us in praying for the upcoming election as well as the candidates and current officeholders.
