This is going to be a bit more personal than I’d like, but in an effort to stay as authentic and genuine as possible, I only feel it’s fair to share the reality of this dream of mine and how my life has unfolded to get me to this vision. I remember when I first got an allowance. It was $3/week if I did my chores around the house and my mom had three mason jars for me: one for spending, one for saving, and one for church. She wanted me to get into the practice of giving even when I was a five year old who thought a dollar was a million! I got my first job when I was 15, I cleaned limousines for a living and saved as much money as I could muster (while still shopping at Wet Seal and Vanity, duh.) As long as I can remember, I babysat, was a nanny, and I worked hard to pay for the things I wanted in life, whether it be a different kind of shampoo than Suave or a manicure before prom. As the years passed, I worked my way through college and paid every penny of it while juggling three jobs in the summer when I would come home (until I landed a job as a tour guide at a paper mill, honey, I’ve had some interesting jobs in my past!) I can thank my parents for my strong work ethic, for teaching me the value of money.
The truth is, money has always had a strong hold on my heart. It’s always been a way of measuring success (in my eyes) and it’s something that sucked me in before I can even remember. As the years went by, my desire to continue making more and more money grew and the more I made, the tighter I clung to it. (I told you I was going to be brutally honest, didn’t I?) The funny thing is that we live very simply, we paid cash for our Honda’s and we don’t shop often. We never really feel “in want” and so we continue to live like we are still in college and we have saved as much as we could over the years. It wasn’t until this year that I realized how much money was consuming my heart, measuring my worth, and holding me back from really making a difference. The truth is, I think a lot of millenials can relate. We still live like we are in college, we are still in want, we are still waiting to make “enough” before we start to give back. I sincerely believe that our generation wants to leave this world a better place, that we want to be responsible inhabitants of this earth, that we have a desire to be the change but we don’t know where to begin. Up until this year, I clung to my money like a security blanket. I didn’t spend it, I watched the numbers grow as it sat in the bank, and while I thought it would make me happy, I learned that adding another zero didn’t do anything to my worth. As we sat in church on a Sunday morning and were asked the question of what had a stronghold on my heart, I knew the answer: money.
Did you know that the average millennial makes 33k per year? Now, when you look at that number, you might be putting yourself on an invisible totem pole to see where you measure up based on that national average but here is where my dream comes in. What if we, as a generation, donated one freaking percent of what we made? What if we parted with one dollar a day in order to help change the world? The truth is, if you donated one dollar a day, you’d be donating more than one percent of your income but you’d also be making an impact. After my trip with Healing Waters, I came home with a new perspective. Their goal? To get people to donate $25 a month to provide clean water for 25 kids in need. Seriously, that’s one less manicure, one less happy hour, one movie night at home instead of going out, one less parking ticket or cab ride! Think about it, it’s a drop in the bucket really, but how many of us struggle to part with our money? How many of us feel like we don’t have the means to give?
If we don’t start to change now, it will only get harder to part with our money, we will continue to convince ourselves that we don’t have enough, but the truth is, one dollar a day would change the world. As I prayed over my heart, I started to give. An extra tip here, paying it forward there, supporting kiddos in Guatemala, donating to friends on missions, going on my own mission trip… the more I gave, the more joyful I became. I didn’t miss the money, in fact, I wanted to give more and more. The more I gave, the more joyful I felt within. This revolution inside of me started a dream, I am launching the #onefreakingpercent campaign. The truth is, I have no idea what it will be or look like or how it will unfold but I want to start the change and I want to challenge my friends to really think about donating just one percent of their earnings to a cause they are passionate about to start some momentum, whether it be rescuing puppies or providing fresh water, if it would be in educating children or supporting veterans. I don’t care where your money goes as long as you are passionate about the cause and you are ready to make a difference. My hope is that the more we start to give, the less we will miss it, the more we can live with less. It’s one percent guys, if we don’t get in the habit of giving, if we fail to see that where we are in this moment can generate change, if we don’t think we are enough to do it, we might just smolder what could be an epic change for the future! Stay tuned for more but friends, if money has a stronghold on your heart, I will be praying that you can loosen the grip and start to really see the gifts you’ve been blessed with and you can bless others with! Get out a mason jar and put one single bill into it every day, even the spare change from your pockets, you’d be surprised at how much you can really give…
Are you in for #onefreakingpercent? Want to help lead the change? Comment below!
If you want to learn more about the life changing trip I went on with Healing Waters, click here!
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I completely agree with you! The real gifts in life are so rare and they have no economic value. We need to learn to appreciate them and be grateful for every little thing that comes or way.
Jenna, I love your campaign idea! My husband and I were inspired to give more after a sermon by John Ortberg (at our home church- Menlo Park Presbyterian). We live and own a fitness studio in Silicon Valley, and it can be hard not to get wrapped up in the “money game” around here. My husband and I sat down together, and decided that we wanted to make “giving” a part of our Studio mission. Every month, clients are able to “row” (on our water rowers) or “ski” (on our ski erg) for meals to donate to ‘Feeding America’. Every 500 meters they row, they donate 1 meal to Feeding America. At the end of the month, my husband and I add up the “Meals Earned” and convert that into $ that we donate to Feeding America. It’s been a great way to get the clients involved in our mission to give back…we’ve even inspired clients to become “monthly sponsors”- and they have started MATCHING the meals and donating their own money. Every little bit makes a difference… thanks for leading the pack! #onefreakingpercent #studiokfit #kendrickfitness
Jenna, I absolutely love this! If everyone did this (or everyone who had the means to) the world would be a much different place! I know that money has a stronghold on my life as well and since I started Biblical School, I’ve really embraced giving 10% of my income to the Church and charitable causes. It’s amazing how when we trust God with our resources how much further He takes us! Keep on spreading the good word sister!