Dec. 9 and July 14, 2018, are two dates that have great meaning for the teenagers from First Presbyterian Church in Albert Lea.

On Dec. 9, First Presbyterian Church will hold its annual Cookie Walk and Holiday Bazaar. This event is a great way for people from the Albert Lea area to buy a variety of Christmas cookies and homemade crafts. Here is how it works: Buy a ticket or a time slot to select your cookies for $20. Show up early to browse the holiday bazaar, and at your appointed time, you enter the cookie room and fill your box with whatever types of cookies you need for your holiday celebration. It is a really fun and easy way to get a variety of different homemade cookies without having to bake them yourself!

On July 14, the teenagers from First Presbyterian Church will fly to Accompong, Jamaica. Once they arrive, the teens will be organizing and running MAD Camp for the middle school students from Accompong. MAD Camp is a music and drama camp that is designed to allow middle school students the opportunity to explore talents in singing, interpretive dance and drama. MAP Camp also allows the high school teenagers from Albert Lea the opportunity to share their talents and learn valuable leadership skills. All talent areas of MAD Camp are organized and designed by our local teenagers.

What these two dates have in common is simple. One of those dates fuels the other. Every $20 box of cookies that is purchased buys a MAD Camp T-shirt and simple meals for a middle school student from Accompong. The investment in a box of cookies benefits you and your family immediately. The real benefit is providing a fun, rewarding camp opportunity for students from a poor village in the mountains of Jamaica

Accompong is the village where Jamaica Accompong Connection of Minnesota works to provide educational opportunities for middle and high school students. JACOM’s scholarship program provides the opportunity for Accompong students to receive education beyond the sixth grade without placing undue financial stress on families who are already struggling to feed their children. Since most families exist on sustenance farming, MAD Camp provides an enjoyable week-long event for students who would otherwise not be able to afford something similar.

Nancy Goodwin

Albert Lea