Give It Away Now: The “Oh Baby” Edition

Protecting the Most Vulnerable: The Unborn

In September 2008, Life Teen hosted the first Global Life Night, and as one family we donated over 300,000 pounds of clothing to charity. In September 2009, we moved from clothing to food and were able to donate over 200,000 food items to local food pantries and soup kitchens. In September 2010, we joined together to “give drink to the thirsty” by collecting change to build wells in Africa. The results were incredible. We donated over $200,000 to build and maintain 18 wells in Ghana, Africa.

This year we turn our attention, prayer, and service to some of the most vulnerable in society: the unborn. This year’s project is to stock the shelves of your local pregnancy resource center with baby items and other essentials. We invite all our Life Teen and Edge parishes to join together to do this Life Night / Edge Night on the same night – September 25, 2011.

Our challenge: collect 150,000 baby items to support local pregnancy resource centers.

Get Involved:
3 Simple Steps

  1. Collect baby items from your family, neighborhood and friends.
  2. Bring your donations to the parish the weekend of September 25th.
  3. Join us for the Give It Away Now: Oh Baby Life Night / Edge Night on September 25th!

*Specific details below.

What is “Give It Away Now”?

For the past three years, the Life Teen family has come together for a global Life Night / Edge Night and Service Project. Each year we set a goal for our parishes to reach, and every year you exceed the goal! As a Life Teen staff, we are humbled and amazed at the impact we can have when we work together. Let’s look at what god has done:

2008 – Clothing Drive. The goal was to donate 50,000 lbs of donated clothes to charity. When it was over, we had donated over 400,000 lbs of clothing to charity!

2009 – Food Drive. The goal was to donate 200,000 food items to shelters and food pantries. With about 160 participating parishes, we donated over 205,000 food items!

2010 – Change Drive. The goal was to collect $50,000 in change to build 4 wells in ghana, Africa. When all the parish donations were added from over 200 participating parishes, we had raised over $200,000 and this spring, CRS and W.A.T.E.R. will be able to build and maintain eighteen wells in Ghana!

Unbelievable! And behind all these amazing statistics, there are thousands of stories of teenagers being inspired to serve their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Oh Baby!: The Details for This Year’s “Give It Away Now”

This year we are turning our attention to some of the most vulnerable in our society: the unborn. Through a baby item drive, we will support pregnancy resource centers throughout the United States and beyond. We ask you to prayerfully consider being a part of this year’s Give It Away Now project (even if you haven’t in the past). This year’s goal is to have 300 parishes participate and collect 150,000 baby items (that’s 500 items per parish). Below is a step-by step guide to hosting 2011 Give It Away Now at your parish:

Step #1 – Research.

Work with your local pro-life organization (parish or diocese) and select a pregnancy resource center in your area to support. You can also search through www.priestsforlife.org/crisis. Once you have chosen a center, contact them to introduce yourself and the project. Ask them which items they are in need of. You can also ask if there is someone who can give a short testimony at the Life Night / Edge Night.

Step #2 – Set A Date & Advertise.

September 25, 2011 is the official date for this year – if possible, set aside that date for this Life Night / Edge Night. If that date is not available, you can choose a Sunday that is within that time frame to participate. Once the date is set, it’s time to get the word out! Use Life Night / Edge Night announcements, bulletin announcements, facebook, email, smoke signals – whatever works for your community!

Step #3 – Do the Life Night / Edge Night and Count Items.

On your set date, host the Life Night / Edge Night. Within the Life Night / Edge Night, have the teens count the donated items. (A note on counting: closed boxes or containers count as one item – i.e. a box of 100 diapers counts as 1 item, not 100 items). During the Life Night, be sure to take a group picture that includes a sign with the parish name, location, and number of items collected.

Step #4 – Donate Items.

After the Life Night / Edge Night, take the donated items to the local pregnancy resource center. If possible, bring some Core Members and teens along to help.

Step #5 – Email Life Teen with Results.

Send an email to giveitawaynow@lifeteen.com with your parish name, location, number of items collected, and one group photo from your Life Night / Edge Night. Results and photos will be posted on LifeTeen.com in the weeks following the Life Night / Edge Night. Please send us your results no later than October 28th.

Resources for Give It Away Now

Downloads

Photos from Past Years

Videos

Watch the Give It Away Now video from Life Teen on Vimeo.

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