AVERYday Ministries is excited to announce the creation of YOUTH ACT!
ACT! stands for AveryDay Compassion Team and is a program designed to showcase the talents, leadership and compassion of our county’s youth. Open to children in grades 5 through 12, YOUTH ACT! will run concurrently with the September to June school year beginning in September 2013.
Nothing made me more proud of Avery than her desire and will to help others. She was especially insistent in her desire to help the people of Haiti. She would talk often – and to anyone who would listen – about the need to continue efforts to support the people of Haiti. She had plans to serve on mission trips in Haiti and to someday work in an orphanage in Haiti. She also tried to convince us to adopt two girls from Haiti. Which would require us to purchase bunk beds. She had it all planned.
Avery was so excited about the prospect of playing on the school basketball team. She talked about it. She practiced. She wondered if she would get the same uniform number that she had in volleyball (#10). Unfortunately, she would never play a single day with her team.
Avery had also begged that Matt and I coach her would-be basketball team; as if either of us knew how to coach 5th and 6th grade girls. After her passing, we knew that nothing would stop us from doing exactly that. We learned a lot – a lot about stuff on the court, but mostly about stuff of the heart. These girls meant the world to us.
Avery loved to read. She devoured library books. They meant everything to her. One of our favorite things to do was to read the same book at the same time and talk about what we thought of each section as we went along. It was our own private Mother-Daughter Book Club. I will forever treasure those moments.
Avery was in 5th Grade at Delavan Christian School at the time of her death. It just seemed fitting to pledge to donate 5 new books for the school library each year.
This Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 9:00am, speaker Riely Rae Mikrut will be blessing the students of Delavan Christian School with her recent mission experiences while serving in Thailand, Honduras and South Africa. Riely previously served in Hait and Costa Rica. She is only 19 years old. Inspirational, encouraging, enthusiastic with an incredible love for Jesus, this is one event you will not want to miss!
Read More “UPCOMING EVENT: Thurs, May 23, 2013 RIELY RAE MIKRUT” →
Never underestimate the powerful compassion of a child, for they, too, can make a positive difference in the world we live in.
I first met Morgan via email. She sent me a message inviting me to learn about an organization she created called Motivating Kids to Give. Through it she has organized trash pick-up days in her community. She has organized Music Day at her local nursing home where kids perform for the residents. She has organized this incredible charity walk where the kids themselves get to choose which organization or cause they are walking for. And she is only 11.
Hey, kids! I’ve heard you…. asking what you can do, how you can help… and you’ve been patiently waiting for my answer. Well, I think this is something you’re gonna LOVE! It’ll be fun (of course!) but most of all, you’re going to be able to MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Plus, it’s super easy. (Bonus!!)
Please join me this Saturday, May 11th, at 10:00am for an incredible journey….
I’ll be walking in our local RUN TO RICHES 10k (6 miles) in Avery’s honor. According to the Run to Riches website, this event was organized “to pay tribute to those who once walked among us by bringing people together for a morning of exercise, reflection, community, and charity.”
My beautiful daughter, Avery Johanna McCarthy, 11, was a smiling, energetic 5th grader at Delavan Christian School (DCS).
On Wednesday, October 24, 2012, Avery passed away as a result of a single car accident. Her older sister, Jadrian (17, and a Senior at Elkhorn High School) was driving. Jadrian had picked Avery up after school to take her to her gymnastics practice with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater GymHawks, one of Avery’s many passions. On their way home from practice, driving to the Delavan Christian Reformed Church’s girls’ youth group, GEMS, Jadrian lost control of the car. Avery was killed instantly. Our hearts instantly shattered.
