Charlie Grillo

Today I turned in a check for the Fellowship’s Haiti response effort for $200 from my neighbor, Charlie Grillo. He started a fund drive that raised $400 which he divided among the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Partners in Health. 

It’s not that remarkable that someone would see human suffering and want to respond.

What is remarkable is that Charlie is 7.

An entrepreneur at heart with a winsome smile and a convincing sales pitch, Charlie took his crayons and made a little sign, attached it to a plastic coffee can and solicited funds at every opportunity. So convinced of the “rightness” of his cause, Charlie was unabashed in his appeals. Watch his video and tell me you aren’t charmed!

He went door-to-door in our neighborhood. He took his coffee can to the Cub Scout pack meeting. He even went table-to-table at Wednesday night supper at our church.

In our first session of elementary missions class following the earthquake, Charlie was energetically raising his hand before we started.

“Mr. Wallace! Mr. Wallace!” he pled.

“Yes, Charlie?” I responded.

“Does CBF have missionaries in Haiti?”

To which I gave an overly long and complicated answer about Nancy and Steve James and the long-term commitment to the people of Haiti.

“That’s good because somebody better be doing something to help those people,” was Charlie’s answer.

But unlike so many church people who say “somebody better do something,” Charlie did something himself. It was the very picture of being missional – joining God’s mission of redeeming the world by taking what assets he had and multiplying them.

This experience reminds me of a little boy with a coffee can full of bread and fish who went to hear Jesus. My prayer is that at least 5,000 people will be fed or receive medical attention with Charlie’s $200.

You can join Charlie and make a gift today that will change lives.