Abilene Gives/Gave!

Abilene, Abilene… Well, it may not be the “prettiest town I’ve ever seen,” but boy, does Abilene have heart!

I could give you so many reasons why Abilene is a great place to live and work, but let me stick with just one from yesterday.

Each year, Abilene celebrates “Abilene Gives,” an online giving day where local nonprofits partner together to raise funds for their organizations. The Community Foundation of Abilene helps coordinate it all, and there are even matching funds and prizes for participating organizations so that the donations made can go even further. It’s a day of partnership, awareness-raising, and a bit of friendly competition to help motivate us all to support the long list of nonprofits that are doing amazing work here in the Abilene community. And, let me tell you, this year Abilene gave—to the tune of 2.1 million dollars!

This was the first year that Eden Fellows was able to participate in Abilene Gives, but it certainly won’t be the last! We were encouraged by the ways our supporters reached out to help us raise over $2,000 to support what we’re doing with Fellows. And every single one of those dollars helps ensure a great experience for the young people who come alongside us as they discern how they're being invited to partner in God's transformative work in the world.

So today, I just want to say thanks. Thanks to our fellows for the great work they did in spreading the word about Abilene Gives. Thanks to Abilene for being an amazing community in which to live and do this kind of work. Thanks to all of you who showed your support with a social media share or a donation. We couldn’t do it without you!