Lighting the World, One Little Yellow Duck at a time
On Tuesday 26 November, sisters in the Congleton Ward (Newcastle-Under-Lyme England Stake) marked the launch of the Church’s ‘Light the World 2019’ initiative by handcrafting ‘random acts of kindness’ gifts as part of the Little Yellow Duck Project (see thelittleyellowduckproject.org).
At a Relief Society activity entitled ‘Joy to the World’, sisters viewed presentations on Light the World ‘One by One’, and the Little Yellow Duck Project, a global initiative to highlight the importance of blood, bone marrow, organ and tissue donation. They then took part in workshops creating cross-stitched and appliquéd yellow-duck gifts, to be left in public places for others to find. A special tag on each duck invites the finder to take their gift home to brighten their day and to visit the Little Yellow Duck Project website to register where they found it. As well as the world map showing where ducks have been found, the website has stories and information on how donating can literally save or transform someone’s life.
Briony Harrison, counsellor in the Congleton Ward Relief Society presidency, said: “We wanted our activity to focus on the real meaning of Christmas and the joy we can feel as we serve others. Everyone knows someone who has been blessed by the selfless act of blood or organ donation, so we were happy to be able to support the Little Yellow Duck Project. According to the NHS, every single blood donation, a procedure that takes around ten minutes, can save the lives of up to three others. In fact, an adult could potentially donate enough blood to save the lives of over 1,000 people during their lifetime! No wonder blood donation features on day three of the Light the World 2019 calendar.”
After the workshops, sisters enjoyed festive treats from Britain (mince pies), Germany (stollen, a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried fruit), Hungary (marcipános szaloncukor, a chocolate-coated marzipan confection), France (macarons, a meringue-based biscuit) and other countries, before heading home to distribute their duck-themed gifts. So watch out for a little yellow duck coming to your area!
For more information contact Briony Harrison brionyharrison@hotmail.com