Austin Gutwein asked a very simple question:  If you could stop the next kid from becoming an orphan by doing something as simple as shoot a free throw, would you?

 

Austin Gutwein is the Arizona preteen who has started a national phenomenon with Hoops of Hope, an initiative begun in partnership with World Vision. Just twelve years old at the time, Austin mixed his passion for basketball with his desire to help orphans in Africa. Concerned that no one was listening to the cries of the orphaned children, Austin thought about what Jesus said in Matthew 25:45: “I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.”

 

Austin, who was featured last month on CBS television during the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four weekend, decided to get sponsors and parked himself on a free-throw line. According to Austin’s research, every day during the time he spends at school 2,057 children in Africa become orphans because of HIV/Aids. So, he shot 2,057 free throws on that first day. He raised $3,000. But Austin knew $3,000 wouldn’t go too far. His father, Dan, contacted World Vision, who helped Austin found Hoops of Hope. Austin was able to connect with 1,000 kids who together raised $38,000. This year, Austin’s Hoops of Hope charity will be held in churches and schools across seven states with the hopes of raising enough money to build a school in Zambia. With Austin’s recent exposure on national television, the sky’s the limit for his charity in a nation that loves basketball.

 

Over the last couple of years, I have featured different individuals—some of them children—who have made a tremendous difference in the world. They are people who give hands to the words of Scripture—who don’t merely read the Bible, but put its directives into action.

 

Are you like me and sometimes need reminding of the mandates we have been given to take care of the disenfranchised and poor in our world? Proverbs 21:13 says, “Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.” Deuteronomy 10:17-18 cuts to the heart of what Austin is doing: “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. . . . He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice.”

 

Austin gets that.

 

James 1:27 says, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress. . . .”

 

Would you like to meet Austin? Introduce him to your children or send this link to the youth pastor in your church. Perhaps you can start a Hoops of Hope initiative in your neighborhood. Click here to watch a mini-documentary on Austin’s work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acK2aQp5-zM&feature=related