Loss of son inspired parents to make difference by helping pantry
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How do you celebrate your child’s 13th birthday, that special day when they officially become a teenager? Well, if your child is in heaven, it makes the birthday much more difficult to celebrate — but not impossible.
We knew we wanted to do something special to remember our son and carry on Logan’s Challenge.
Logan’s Challenge was created after our son, Logan Michael Thompson, died April 5, 2010. Five days earlier on March 31, Logan was on a mission — on his way to his best friend Nicholas’ house to deliver a permission slip.
The permission slip needed to be signed by Nicholas’ parents, so Nicholas could go to church with Logan that night and collect food for Love Chapel. Sadly, Logan didn’t make it across Rocky Ford Road to complete his mission.
So what is Logan’s Challenge? It’s simply these 2 questions to ponder:
- Are you willing to cross the street to help out your neighbor, friend, or even a stranger?
- Are you willing to cross the street to tell someone about Jesus Christ?
We know what Logan’s answers were: “Yes, Lord, I am willing.”
We decided the best way to remember and honor Logan on his 13th birthday was to meet his Challenge, and the Love Chapel Food Pantry became our mission.
We asked our friends, family, co-workers, and the Columbus Young Marines (of which Logan was a member) to donate items to the Love Chapel food pantry on or before Sept. 14, Logan’s birthday.
The Columbus Young Marines took the Challenge a step further last year and collected donations for the entire month of September.
Word of Logan’s Challenge for Love Chapel began to spread throughout Columbus, and the donations started to take over a portion of our garage. Some gave 13 items (for his 13th birthday) – we knew Logan would be honored no matter how many items were donated.
We donated 734 items on Sept. 14 to the Love Chapel Food Pantry. As we stacked and organized our donations, we were able to see firsthand the number of people in our community who rely on those donations.
It made us feel like we were really making a difference; we just had to smile and believed that Logan was smiling, too.
On Saturday, Sept. 15, we went back to volunteer at the Food Pantry as a way to continue Logan’s Challenge. It is an amazing and humbling experience to be behind the scenes and see all the work that goes into successfully operating the Food Pantry.
By the end of September, a total of 956 food items and over $200 was donated to the Food Pantry.
We were so proud of everyone who helped us celebrate Logan’s special day and so cheerfully “paid it forward” and accepted Logan’s Challenge.
As we approach the anniversary of Logan’s death, it would be a great time to honor him, accept his Challenge, and make a donation to the Love Chapel. The best blessings are when you freely give to help others.
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