On a mission trip to a Native American plantation in Wyoming, a group of high school students started talking about the needs of Kewanee and how they could help with the needs of Kewanee residents. The students talked with Wake Up Tri-Counties about the history of their new mission and how much it has grown in the last year. Leah Franklin and a group of friends from high school started a non-profit mission group in Kewanee called the Next Generation for Christ. They, along with Matthew 5:42 Ministries work under the First Christian Church in Kewanee. Their idea for helping people in Kewanee started around June 21, 2023, when they began brainstorming ideas to help people and show their love of Christ. Leah, Max, Birseidy, Halee, Corbyn, and Paige spoke with RegionalMediaNews.com about their journey as kids on a mission trip to kids helping a community. Leah’s father runs the Matthew 5:42 Ministries, which gives out clothing to people during its monthly clothing giveaway. Next Generation for Christ started with signs and flyers around Kewanee advertising their mission to help people. They host a soup kitchen on the last Saturday of each month and go to nursing homes with flowers for residents and sit and talk with them. The group survives off donations and proceeds from shirt sales. They help people who may need hygiene products or help with food for the week. They have cleaned houses before and will deliver a meal from the soup kitchen to people who are home-bound and unable to attend the monthly soup kitchen. The group helps at the Kewanee Food Pantry twice a week, and sometimes they help unload the trucks. They will sit down with homeless people to talk and give them non-perishable food when they need it. They also help them find a job. They also work closely with a Prison Ministry to get people a place to live and jobs when they are released from the Life and Skills Center. Through their journey, the people they have helped have begun helping back. Many of the people they helped are now volunteering with and helping them help more people.
Wethersfield School Counselor, Jessica Seiden, told the Kewanee Kiwanis that Leah Frankin told her “I want to start a not-for-profit, and I want you to help me.” The Kewanee Kiwanis invited the Next Generation for Christ to present their charity and said “The Next Generation for Christ IS stepping up. Won’t you support their efforts?”
This group of high-schoolers help when they can and do what they can. There are request forms at businesses around Kewanee, such as the Health Department and the YMCA. If you need help or you can donate, call 309-883-8446, or visit their social media pages. There are QR codes below that you can scan to go to their social media pages.
