CALEDONIA, Mich. - One West Michigan family is inviting you to grow a beard to help them grow their family. Rachel Barker said their fundraiser, ‘Big Beards for a Baby,’ is raising money so they can adopt a child from South Korea.
“It kind of worked out where it was no shave November,” said Rachel. “Also, November is adoption awareness month and what perfect month that we could start our fundraiser on than November.”
Rachel and Timothy Barker have been married for seven years. They always knew they wanted several children, and their first two came easily.
“But then I had multiple miscarriages that lead to a lot of hurt and pain,” said Rachel. “But God is good, then I got pregnant with my third.”
They had been talking about adopting, and even though they now had three kids, they had more love to give. They decided to move forward, and adopt a child from South Korea. Now, they need help with the costs. And that’s why they created “Big Beards for a Baby.”
“Like most things it was mostly my wife’s idea,” said Timothy.
The fundraiser invites beard enthusiasts to grow out their beards, to help the barkers grow their family.
“It always resonated with me and especially with scripture how it’s so important how God adopted us and how we want be like Christ,” said Rachel. “Why wouldn't I want to do the same?” said Rachel.
The fundraiser is spread by word of mouth and social media, sparking interest from family members to complete strangers, like Melvin Gray, a beard enthusiast. Only speaking with the barker’s through e-mail, their story inspired him to help the cause.
“Just the faith that they have that God is going to provide for this adoption is incredible,” said Gray.
Melvin’s raised $75 so far and is looking for more people to sponsor his beard.
The Barkers have raised almost $10,000 of the $40,000 needed, but hope to raise $30,000 by Christmas.
And they’re relying on their faith to help bring home their fourth child. A missing piece to the barker family puzzle.
If you have a beard you would like to have sponsored or wish to sponsor someone else’s beard, you can do so by going to bigbeardsforababy.com.
