There's not much you can buy for a nickel these days, but when you put a few together, they can make a big difference.
That's what kids who attended vacation Bible school at Hixson First Baptist Church learned when they collected the equivalent of more than 40,000 nickels this summer for Bethel Bible Village to help children in crisis.
Watch the video
To see the Heroes for Hope video, visit tinyurl.com/BethelHopeForHeroes.
The Rev. Steven Granger, pastor of Hixson First Baptist Church, has for years asked participants in the church's vacation Bible school to collect nickels for various ministries. He sets up a big scale at the church in the shape of a cross and hangs a bucket on each end. Children are divided into two teams, with each assigned a bucket. The teams then compete to fill their bucket with the most nickels.
"It's about beginning to teach children the importance of giving to ministry," he said. "They learn much more quickly when you make it fun for them."
About a month before the church held this year's vacation Bible school, Granger toured Bethel with church member Cecil Hammontree, who has been on Bethel's board since 1984 and currently serves as the organization's interim president. While Granger knew the Hixson nonprofit served children in crisis, he learned about programs he wasn't aware of previously, including a home for unwed teenage moms and the Fresh Start program, which gives families in need a place to live for a year until they can get back on their feet.
Bethel offers a place to live and a Christ-centered education to children of all faiths who come from homes that are somehow broken, because a parent is in jail or addicted to drugs, or due to the impact of abuse, neglect, violence or other situations that lead to emotional or behavioral issues.
As an organization located near Big Ridge Elementary, where many of the church's children go to school, Bethel is a place the children are familiar with - which makes it easier for them to understand where the money they give is going, said Granger. He also liked the fact that it helps other children.
They called this year's nickel collection the Heroes for Hope project - a video for which went viral.
Vacation Bible school participants were given plastic water bottles with superhero labels printed by the church. Bible school organizers put two nickels in each bottle when they passed them out, to ensure each child had something to give, said VBS volunteer Jan Hammontree. Married to Cecil Hammontree and also a longtime volunteer at Bethel, she was able to tell the children about the organization firsthand.
"We had children who didn't bring an offering [for Bethel] because they were in bad situations of their own," she said.
Over the weeklong Bible school program, the children managed to collect about 10,000 nickels, or $518, from home or people they knew. By taking up an offering in three Sunday school classes and a church service, the amount collected for Bethel grew to $2,264, the equivalent of 45,280 nickels.
"The primary goal was not to raise a ton of money, but for children to understand that they can help others as Christ teaches us," said Jan Hammontree.
Cecil Hammontree said the funds from the church and VBS project will go toward Bethel's general operating fund.
"We appreciate what all of our various partners are doing for Bethel," he said. "All of our donors are so important to us."
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.