Page 4 - Venture - Program Preview

Cynthia’s
When Carlin Long and his friends watched a movie at school, he had no idea that it would change his life. Carlin and his classmates watched Child 31, a movie about children who suffer from hunger. Lette, for example, is a young girl who lives Malawi, Africa, and cares for her little brothers. Lette talks about her constant hunger pains, and how much she misses her parents, who died a few years ago.
Child 31 also tells the story of Mary’s Meals, an organization founded by Magnus MacFarlane Barrow and his brother Fergus in 1992.
Mary’s Meals makes sure that more than two million starving kids in 18 countries receive one good meal every day. Meals are usually served at schools.
Carlin first saw Child 31 with his classmates when
he was a seventh-grader at Bishop John King Mussio Junior High School in Steubenville, Ohio. The school’s principal at the time, Mrs. Teresa Danaher, had heard about Mary’s Meals and wanted to share the movie with the students.
Carlin and his friends participated in school
2 • Venture Lesson 4
Kitchen
Carlin ran 26.2 miles for Cynthia’s Kitchen. His supporters cheered from a safe distance.
fundraisers for Mary’s Meals. The school also started a tradition called Rice Bowl Lunch. On Ash Wednesday, the school cafeteria closed and sold only small amounts of rice and water for lunch. “While it was not the most enjoyable fundraiser, it allowed us to experience just a fraction of the challenges the children in the Mary’s Meals program face every day,” says Carlin.
Carlin’s best friend Cynthia Phillipson loved to raise money for Mary’s Meals and participate in Rice Bowl Lunch. When
she and Carlin were freshmen in high school, Cynthia died suddenly.
A few months later, Mrs. Danaher contacted Carlin. His
old junior high school had raised enough money for Mary’s Meals to sponsor a full kitchen at a school in Africa. But it would mean that they had to keep raising $7,000 every year to keep the kitchen working. Could Carlin help?
“After losing my friend Cynthia so unexpectedly, my faith and trust in God were at an all-time low,” Carlin shares. “I felt that this was a call from God to take up this project to serve others, keep Cynthia’s memory alive, and to be able to find some good in all the suffering caused by her death.”
Carlin Long and his
mom, Susan, updated marathon supporters with livestream videos.