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Nine year old raises money for India Mission
When 9-year-old C.J. Mitchell of Nevada, heard Steve Dean tell the congregation of the Nevada First Baptist Church about his Rose of Sharon: Home of Hope project, he thought, "the girls need a home" and I thought "we could sell some stuff and get some money for the girls."
His idea started with his desire to sell some of his "toys, stuffed animals, clothing, shoes" and other stuff and it grew into a garage sale that brought in $2,165.75, according to his mother, Mary Mitchell.
The entire congregation and others pitched in and donated items for the sale that was held Saturday at the church's youth center, The Green Room, 1601 N. Osage Blvd. in Nevada.
Several hundred people dropped in at the Green Room between 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday to purchase everything from clothing and housewares to golf clubs, knick-knacks, toys and books. Mitchell said when he heard Steve Dean talk about the girls, "I wanted to help." He said, "people are finding out what they need and we're getting the money that they need," for some of those things. Mitchell hopes that maybe some day he can go to India and help even more.
The India Mission began when Steve Dean of Richards had a chance encounter while on an airplane en route to Africa. It was on that plane where he met the Rev. Prasana Kumar of Chennai, India, the finance director for India Bible Literature. During their conversation Dean learned how Kumar and his wife Dorothy had given up their 900 square foot home so 15 homeless girls would have a place to live.
The India Mission came into being when Dean and his wife Ellen decided to raise the money to build a permanent facility for some of the homeless girls of Chennai. Dean gave one of his first presentations to the congregation of the First Christian Church in Nevada on April 29, 2012.
Since then the mission has progressed. A board of directors was formed and they have achieved 501(c)3 status and donations have started to come in to the organization. Dean was at the sale Saturday and said that right now there are $70,000 in the charity's coffers. Their goal is $500,000. With that he hopes to build a facility capable of housing 60 to 80 girls. Dean said he will announce a speaking tour soon.
Dean said they are presently providing "$500 per month" for maintenance of the girls in Kumar's home, and they are just getting started. Dean thought Mitchell's idea was a tremendous success. At 9:30 Saturday morning he said, "there's already been a lot of stuff go out of here." He said Mitchell was a "great kid," and couldn't praise him enough for what he was doing.
Mitchell's parents and family members were on hand to help with the sale. His father said they "liked doing it." He said when he started out, C.J. was just going to sell a few things. "We're awful proud of him -- he's a dreamer." Mitchell's mother, Mary, said she was pleased with the way things went and estimated somewhere between 300 and 400 people came to the sale. "It's gone great," she said. And when it was all over she said, "there wasn't a single time that there weren't people in there."
Dean was pleased with the sale. On Monday, he was hustling for a television interview in the morning and then had to pack for a trip out of the country later that night. Dean said he was proud of Mitchell. "He's got a great heart for these little girls. He wants to go to India and help, and I'm going to do whatever I can to make that happen."
For more information about the Rose of Sharon: Home of Hope project call (417) 549-0549 or go to www.roseofsharonindia.org or write to Dean at 11235 East D Highway, Richards, Mo., 64778.