LAKELAND, Fla. — Children’s birthday parties are usually equated with piles of presents, but for one Lakeland boy no presents were the special request. Vinny Ferreira recently celebrated his tenth birthday by asking his friends not to bring presents, but instead to bring a donation for the Children’s Malnutrition Center in San Juan Guatemala.
“My friend Holt went to the Malnutrition Center on a mission trip and told me about the kids there. Another one of my friends raised money for kids that live at the trash dump in Honduras. He raised enough money to build a roof!” Vinny said.
“I’m proud of him,” said Vinny’s father Rand his friends raised $270.00 for the Malnutrition Center.
Vinny Ferreira celebrates his tenth birthday party with his friends. Vinny asked his friends to bring donations for the Children’s Malnutrition Center instead of presents.
Dr. Jerry Haag, president of the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes met with Vinny to thank him for his generosity. “That’s amazing Vinny, every six seconds a child somewhere in the world dies of malnutrition related causes. Your $270.00 will feed ten children for an entire month. Just to think that you have literally saved these children from hunger is amazing,” Haag said.
The Children’s Malnutrition Center in San Juan, Guatemala is one of the locations in the developing world that the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes is working to help improve quality of care for children. Click here to read more about the Malnutrition Center.