Parable of the talents vicar, Richard Steel has taken his £10 challenge into schools.
Richard, the Rector of Kirkheaton, Huddersfield who gave out £550 of his own money in £10 notes to his congregation to reinvigorate his church redevelopment fund has returned from telling schoolchildren in Surrey his story and how he was inspired by Jesus’ parable of the talents.
With Richard’s £10 notes, the Kirkheaton church community in Huddersfield raised over £11,000 through a wide range of activities from chocolate making, woodworking, photography to drawing and cookery. And even though the church project is now complete, some of the contributors are still continuing with their new-found talents.
Richard told his story to children from four local schools in Walton on Thames who were then tasked with designing their own £10 projects – the winners were given £10 to help fund their projects which included a car wash, a pancake party, an auction, an art exhibition, a netball shootout and a cake sale.
The only stipulation is they bring back £10 to pass on to another group of children this month when the school holds a summer event focussing on how little things can change lives.
Now Richard has taken the idea into his local school in Kirkheaton, Huddersfield who have accepted the £10 challenge and raised nearly £200 for a children’s cancer charity – and he hopes to spread the idea wider.
“It’s absolutely lovely to see a simple idea continuing to inspire people, especially children, to work for others,” he says. “And have fun doing it as well.
“It’s great to have been able to share a story that Jesus told, to sow a seed of the relevance of the Bible today that I also hope will sow seeds for the future.
“Kirkheaton Primary School is the first school to take it up. I was impressed by some of their ideas and who knows in the long term what seeds this might grow.
“And I still have £10 to give to another school – so please just get in touch,” he added
The £10 challenge is part of the global movement called Design For Change which aims to give children an opportunity to express their own ideas for a better world and put them into action. It was inspired by Ghandi’s be the change you wish to see in the world and is making a huge impact amongst schoolchildren across the world who are dreaming up and leading brilliant ideas, from challenging age-old superstitions in rural communities, to earning their own money to finance school computers to solving the problem of heavy school bags.
Said Richard: “I was really surprised how far the £10 challenge touched people – not just amongst my own church community, but the number of churches that got in touch with me around the country - and other community groups too.
“And now the fact that a charity that works with children to make a real change in their communities has adapted the idea is brilliant. It will give the children stimulation to think creatively and take leadership in small ways that might lead to even greater things in the future,” he said.
You can contact Richard at rector@kirkheatonchurch.org.uk
Find out more about design for change at www.dfcworld.com