THANK YOU!

In August 2012 we began a campaign that asked rival fans to donate and raise money to help Samaritan’s Purse build a women’s and children’s clinic in Petit Goave, Haiti. After six months, the campaign raised $30,000! You can click here to see which team’s fans donated the most, and check back here for updates as construction of the clinic is set to begin in the summer of 2013. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

What if we could channel the passion of a sold out stadium to bring glory to God?  What if our shouts and cheers could feed the hungry and heal sick.  What if….

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I end my latest book, Love Thy Rival, by asking sports fans if their fanaticism is bringing glory to God.  It’s a tough question, because for me the answer is usually no. I wanted to change this, so I talked to my friends at Samaritan’s Purse about starting a giving campaign that would raise money for a project by pitting rival fans against each other.

For the project we chose a medical clinic in Haiti that is part of Samaritan Purse’s Maternal Child Health and Nutrition Program, which focuses on providing training and education to women and mothers of children under two.  Through this program, hundreds of community health workers are trained by Samaritan’s Purse national staff to provide education in prenatal care, antenatal care, nutrition, and Biblical parenting.

The new clinic will be located in Petit Goave and will offer prenatal and antenatal clinical care including:  Routine ultrasound, basic labs (hemoglobin and hematocrit), tetanus immunization, hypertension screening, blood glucose monitoring, protection against malaria, treatment of iron-deficiency anemia, and the treatment of complications as necessary.  This also involved the detection and management of eclampsia, a leading cause of maternal mortality in Haiti.  Samaritan’s Purse will hire Haitian obstetricians and nurses to work at the clinic, and also hope to have volunteer doctors and nurses come from the U.S., Canada, etc., to help out.

Construction on the clinic is set to begin in 2013, and Samaritan’s Purse estimates needing $4o,000 to cover construction materials, national construction staff, expat construction staff and other unexpected costs. The clinic will have a waiting area, 3-4 exam rooms, a classroom, an office, a triage room, reception and checkout area, storage room, and a pharmacy.

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…when someone asks why these hated rivals have joined forces, we can say because we love God more than we love our team, and we hate sin more than we hate our rival.