May I tell you a sad story, with a potential happy ending?
Sara Kennedy is one of our very own; Grew up in our church, graduated from Burton Adventist Academy, and then went on to Southwestern Adventist University [SWAU]. She is actively involved in many of our ministries here, including UG Youth, Music Ministry, and Younger Generation Church.
Sara is a music major now in her senior year. Earlier in her collegiate career, she wanted to take advantage of SWAU’s Three-Way Match Scholarship, and invited our church to participate in order to multiply the value of the tuition award.
Unfortunately I had to say “no” to her invitation [This is the sad part.]. In full disclosure, I had to decline her request because at that time we did not have collegiate scholarship aid as part of our church budget back then, so we could not participate. In fact sadly, this has been the case for several collegians and families who have asked our church to participate in the 3-way match scholarship.
Sara was very gracious and understanding, as have all the collegians who have asked for scholarship support. And I’ve always felt saddened to decline their requests, but I do appreciate Sara’s compassionate heart to find a solution, if not for her, hopefully for other college students who might benefit.
You might imagine my delight when I received Sara’s YG Shark Tank proposal: She outlined a plan to have a musical event in order to bring inspiration to our church and an appeal for scholarship funding so that other SWAU students might benefit in the future. Wow!
What a delight this past weekend to have the SWAU University Singers and Donne Cantanti, both directed by Jonathan E. L. Wall, perform at our church as well as Dr. Devon Howard serve as our organist. Sara as well as her collegiate peers led worship for Younger Generation Church as well as performed special music for all three services!
[Here’s the potential happy ending.] During all three services, Sara as well as her musical peers invited us to contribute to the SWAU Scholarship fund via our online giving platform. Here’s their appeal:
The Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church is collaborating with Southwestern Adventist University’s Department of Music to provide the opportunity for its community to help students who are in financial need. Your generous giving will help make an immediate impact in the lives of our local university scholars. Go to http://give.arlingtonadventist.com and contribute to "SWAU Scholarship" or write in "SWAU Scholarship" on your Arlington Adventist Church tithe envelope." Thank you for your generosity.
Your generosity will allow us to offer scholarship support to SWAU students, and I so admire Sara for her heart and persistence to ask for our involvement. Click the above icon or here to give online, or mark “SWAU Scholarships” on our church tithe and offering envelope and contribute in person at Arlington church.
Sara Kennedy and all of our talented SWAU collegians are an inspiration to me, and I have great confidence in the tremendous impact they will continue to make upon graduation. My hope is that you will join me in supporting them in the many ways we can, including helping them financially through the SWAU Scholarship Fund. Thank you so much for your consideration and response to Sara and Beca’s appeal.
