If you happened to stop by the Community Market on Sandusky the evening of Feb. 22, you might have been thrown off your regular grocery shopping routine when you realized the music seemed louder than usual … and there was a surprising number of high schoolers pushing carts around. What you stumbled upon was the youth group from Bellefontaine Grace participating in a Supermarket Sweep-like fundraiser.
First, the students were challenged to raise $50 each. Then, by Wednesday night, they had accumulated almost $2,300. They brought that cash to Community Market, where they used it—through games, food trivia and challenges—to buy food and other items to donate to the Lutheran Community Services food pantry.
“The students did most of the fundraising for this,” Bellefontaine Grace Pastor Nick Mazza said. “They had a lot of fun, and it’s something we’ll do again.”
Challenges included finding seven rubber duckies hidden throughout the store, submitting the funniest birthday card and locating a canned meat that rhymes with “ram.” Each time they succeeded, the winners received more cash. For instance, the first team that brought up a can of Spam earned an extra $25.
BG’s student ministry is known as 144, which is based on Psalm 144:12. The idea behind it, according to Mazza, is to see their young men and women “grow in their knowledge of the Lord, and to be a source of light in the darkness.”
After dropping off the many boxes Thursday morning, Mazza stated, “This was all about providing a fun and engaging opportunity for our students while also serving our community.”
Bellefontaine Grace meets on South Main Street, next to Lowe’s Home Improvement.