Years ago I learned the wisdom of making regular giving a part of one's life. (See below for that story.) So as I thought about creating this Village, I wanted to make giving a special part of it. Part of my dream for Willowrose Village is to set up a charity - and I plan to do that in the next year or so.

While there are other charities I support personally, for the village my dream is to have a special charity focus. I want the Willowrose charity to be involved with micro-enterprise, or as it is sometimes also called - micro-lending or micro-credit.

Micro-enterprise
The basic idea of micro-enterprise is the lending of money to business people and entrepreneurs in poor areas of the world. These loans – which are small compared to what we are used to – sometimes as little as $50 – can make it possible for the person receiving it to grow a business that will supply food, clothing, shelter and an opportunity for a better life for their family.

I learned about micro-lending a number of years ago and found myself quite intrigued by the idea. As a business person, I love the idea of being able to help a fellow business person - someone who is willing to work in a business of their own.

I love the idea of this being a hand-up, not just a hand-out. That idea of “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day – but teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

I also love the idea that this is a gift that keeps giving. This money is not just “given” to people, it is “lent” to people – with the expectation that it will be paid back. At which point it can be lent out again – and again – and again.

My Commitment
My commitment is to have a portion of all the income from Willowrose Village go to support micro-enterprise. Once our Willowrose Charity is set up, we will probably become personally involved, as my husband has made several trips to work in areas where micro-lending could be used.

Until our own charity is established, I am choosing to support an organization called Opportunity International. This year I want to make people aware of this amazing opportunity and to invite you to give what you can.

The Willowrose Christmas Village
I also want to use something that my husband and I have been collecting for a number of years now – our Christmas village - which at this point is just shy of 70 buildings. My goal for this year is to have over 100 buildings by Christmas. I want to find a place where I can set it up, and then invite people to come and view it as a way of making people aware of the opportunity, and to raise funds for it.

"Buy" a House in the Christmas Village
But Christmas is a ways down the road at this point, so I’ve been thinking of what to do in the meantime. I've decided to make the Christmas Village an on-going part of the Willowrose Charity. I'm going to do that by inviting people to “buy” the houses for the Christmas village – by making a donation to Willowrose Village or donating directly to Opportunity International.

You can "buy" a house for $100 - or you can "buy" a half share in a house for $50, or a quarter share for $25. And you can "buy" as many houses as you want.

Donating to or through Willowrose
Should anyone want to donate to the Willowrose Village Charity, you are welcome to do so - I just would not be able to give you a receipt for it yet. Just make your cheque out to Willowrose Village and note in the memo line that it is for the Christmas Village Charity.

However, if you would like to get a receipt for your gift, I would ask you to donate directly to Opportunity International.

Honoring Those Who Give
I would like to honor those who do give, whether directly to Willowrose or to Opportunity International.

If you donate to Opportunity International because you found out about them here at Willowrose, I invite you to send me a copy of your donation receipt. Simply e-mail me a copy of your donation receipt and I will list you with the others as a contributor to this Christmas Village. There will be a list here online – and there will also be a list when the Christmas Village is set up. Let me know if you want your personal name, your business name, or both, on that list.

Donate Your Christmas House
I have another opportunity for your involvement in the Christmas Village as well – if you have a Christmas Village house or building that you no longer use or want – would you consider donating it to the Willowrose Christmas Village? Your name will also be included on a list.

From my heart to yours – thank you for making a difference!
Evelyn Grace

I grew up in a Christian home and we did give to our church, but I don't recall ever having been seriously taught the Biblical principle of tithing.

One of my first summer jobs was in Banff and wouldn't you know it - the very first church service I attended there, the minister spoke about tithing. Well - that was a challenge!

You see, I knew what my wages were going to be that summer, I had a pretty good idea of what my expenses would be - and I knew that if I was really careful, I would have just enough to pay for my next year of school. So to give 10% would mean I would probably be short come fall. So what to do?

The minister had explained that God's word on this kind of giving came with a promise - that if you honored Him with your giving, He would honor you. (You can read the verse in Malachi 3:10 where it says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.). So I decided to test Him - and for the whole of that summer, I gave my tithe.

And you know what? To this day I still can't explain it, but when the end of the summer came, I not only had everything I needed for school that winter, I had extra!