 Ron and Suzanne Knol |
When Ron Knol of Edmonton, Alberta decided that he wanted to quit smoking, his wife, Suzanne, decided to support his resolution with some extra motivation. As a result, people in poverty are being helped and Ron remains smoke-free.
It all started on the refrigerator.
“When I decided to stop smoking,” recalls Ron, “my wife asked me how much the smoking addiction had been costing me monthly. When I came home a few weeks later, there were pictures of 3 children taped to the refrigerator door along with a note that read ‘If you start again, which one will go hungry?’”
Suzanne hoped that using promotional materials from a traditional child sponsorship program would give Ron the extra motivation he needed when he felt the urge to light-up.
“She’s very subtle,” he joked, “but I’m still not smoking. Those photos instantly and repeatedly gave me a very visible reminder – especially when the nicotine urge kicked in – of what was being enabled by quitting smoking”
While the family originally supported another organization, they recently made the switch to CRWRC’s Free A Family® program.
“I believe CRWRC is more efficient (than child sponsorship),”he said. “We don’t need letters, school report cards, Christmas cards, etc. eating up our charitable gift.”
Through Free A Family® supporters in North America give a set amount of money each month to help entire families participate in a variety of CRWRC programs. In exchange for their support, they receive updates four times a year about an actual family that CRWRC is helping. In order to maximize the amount of money going to ministry, CRWRC uses representative families for these updates – meaning that CRWRC staff only report on one family per region and can spend more of their time carrying out ministry. Because of the efficiency of this program, it only costs $22 per month or $264 per year to help an entire family.
“Currently, a ‘pack-a-day’ smoker is spending $300 a month on cigarettes. In Alberta, with our generous 50% tax credit for charitable donations, that means a heavy smoker could quit smoking, give $600 a month to charity and not suffer financially,” said Ron, "That equals 27 families being supported and increased donations for Kingdom work in general.”
Ron and Suzanne hope that their story inspires others.
“Of course (quitting smoking) isn’t the primary reason that we’re supporting Free A Family®, but we’re hoping the story may inadvertently help other smokers discover a way to reinforce their rational for quitting,” he said.
He also points out that this does not only apply to smokers. The practice could also be used by those who eat too much fast food, drink too many lattes, or spend too much money on golf or other hobbies.
“It’s all part of the theory that your chequebook is a theological statement. It shows your values,” Ron concluded. “Somehow, somewhere, something in the family budget can be adjusted to allow for the support of Kingdom work. The discussion of the rationale may also be a great stewardship lesson for kids.”
This year, as CRWRC celebrates its 50th year of ministry, it is encouraging people to consider becoming a Free A Family® supporter. The goal is to reach 500 new families through 500 new supporters.
To find out more about Free A Family, click here.