KWIRK, the CRWRC Chipmunk

“It is never too early for children to learn about the needy in the world. It’s never too early to challenge them to respond to those in need as Christians. It’s never too early to teach stewardship principles.” This statement in the 1983 annual report of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (now known as World Renew) was part of the launch of a new educational program geared to children.

This statement in the 1983 annual report of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (now known as World Renew) was part of the launch of a new educational program geared to children.  The intent was to use the program to help develop young people who were concerned about social justice and supportive of programs to help the poor.  At the center of this effort was a chipmunk mascot, named KWIRK.

“Soon after I began work at CRWRC in 1980, I noticed that church school and Vacation Bible School groups were encouraged to take offerings for the agency, but there was little in the way of child-friendly materials to encourage giving and help them understand the agency’s mission,” said Bill Haverkamp, who worked with CRWRC in the 1980’s. 

Encouraged by his supervisor, Karen De Vos, to do “whatever it takes” to capture children’s interest, Bill turned to his wife Marybeth, a creative elementary teacher, for ideas.  In a matter of days, KWIRK, the CRWRC chipmunk was born.

The name, KWIRK, was derived from the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee’s acronym.  If you say the letters as if it was a word, the result sounds like, “KWIRK.” 

Once the mascot was named, the next step of the process was to create the materials that would support the educational program.  Phyllis Witte, an art teacher at South Christian High school near Grand Rapids, Michigan, designed and made a child-sized costume in the shape of a chipmunk.

“She fashioned his large head from paper mache and covered it with tan, fur-like material,” said Bill.  “The body was made of the same material and featured characteristic black and white stripes down the back.  At the time, it fit my oldest child, Brad.”

Bill and Marybeth Haverkamp then put together a script for a puppet production based on the Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; teach him to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”  To complete the project, they also created five audio-visual presentations using slides and a tape recording of a child’s voice narrating the story.

The show then went on the road.

“Almost every Sunday morning and many Wednesday nights – because Mission Emphasis Weeks were popular in those days – we packed up our station wagon with the puppet theatre, KWIRK, AV equipment and three children,” said Bill.

Over the next eight years, the family presented KWIRK well over 300 times in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Iowa, and Ontario –sometimes rising before dawn and returning just before midnight. When oldest son, Brad, outgrew the costume, younger sisters Betsy and Bethany took his place.

“KWIRK was very shy and often hid in a closet or hallway at the start of the presentations.  He never talked out loud but only whispered into my ear, each time sharing an object lesson relevant to CRWRC’s work to alleviate hunger,” recalls Bill.

“Our family enjoyed our contacts with churches immensely,” added Marybeth.  “We were warmly welcomed wherever we went, and the children to whom we presented were fascinated by KWIRK and the puppet show.  It was exhausting at times, and we sometimes missed our own church, but in many respects our family loved every minute of it.  We met many committed Christian people in our travels. “

The Haverkamp’s travels across the Midwest were not without incident.  Once, at New Era Christian School in New Era, Michigan, KWIRK fell asleep while in hiding and missed his cue to come out.  Another time just after leaving Burlington, Ontario, following a winter afternoon event, the exhaust system and heater on the Haverkamp station wagon cracked near the manifold causing an outrageously noisy and cold Sunday night trip home to Grand Rapids.  Yet another time, the Haverkamps ran out of gas at midnight near Holland, Michigan, and had to be rescued by a police officer.

Perhaps the most memorable and embarrassing incident was the time the Haverkamp kids made a sign that said, “We’re being kidnapped!” as a joke, and posted it in the car window behind the puppet theatre in the back of the station wagon so passers-by could see it. 

“I wondered why drivers were looking at me so strangely,” said Bill, “Fortunately, there were no cellphones in those days to alert police.”

Now that he’s on the World Renew/CRWRC board, Bill Haverkamp often recalls the family trips and visits to churches.  “Our experiences with the churches and CRWRC staff blessed our family tremendously. We hope and pray we made an impact on children, teaching them that CRWRC is a means that God uses to bring hope to poor people.  Perhaps some of today’s adult donors were kids who sat at KWIRK’s feet in the 1980s. Through them, a wonderful organization, now with the name World Renew, continues to impact, transform, and restore lives.”

World Renew continues to consider children to be an important aspect of its ministry.  Each year, the organization produces a children’s curriculum that can be used by Sunday schools, Vacation Bible Schools, or Christian elementary schools to help teach about the issues affecting those in need and raise funds for specific components of World Renew’s ministry.

The most recent of these projects is called “God’s Blessings Farm.” It highlights the important role that livestock – such as goats, rabbits, bees, sheep, and pigs – play in helping families have a sustainable source of income.   

“The problem of poverty and hunger won't be solved in this century,” said that 1983 report.  “They may not be solved in the next century, but KWIRK is sure that his young friends of today will be tomorrow's leaders in the fight against hunger and injustice.”  World Renew continues to believe that.