The Seventh-day Adventist Church took the media spotlight in Nicaragua after more than 2,000 Pathfinders and Adventurers hit the streets to raise money to help disabled young people in the Central American country.
The Adventist young people got involved after a prominent local non-governmental organization, Teleton Nicaragua Foundation, asked the Seventh-day Adventist Church to kick off its annual fundraising telethon.
Pathfinders and Adventurers, wearing uniforms and carrying specially marked containers, flooded city streets and entered businesses, market places, restaurants, and barbershops for two days last month, collecting more than 150,000 Nicaraguan Córdoba (US$6,000).
“This was a great opportunity for our young people to represent the church,” said Marvin Gomez, youth ministries director for the Adventist Church in Nicaragua. “They were eager to be part of this great initiative to benefit those with special needs.”
Church leaders were interviewed on national television before and during the telethon, as well as on the radio and in the print media.
“Our leaders were asked about our church’s beliefs, our young people in colorful uniforms, and our initiatives and activities,” Gomez said. “So it was a tremendous opportunity for the church to have such direct contact with the public.”
Church members go door to door collecting funds every year during the church’s annual Ingathering campaign, but to volunteer for this specific cause proved significant for the church, Gomez said.
Teleton Nicaragua Foundation organizers thanked church leaders for overseeing what they called a well-coordinated fundraising drive.
Another large group of young people will collect funds for the foundation in the south of the country next month, Gomez said.
Gloria Loupiac contributed to this report