The Amazing Way Sacrificial Giving Started with the Tooth Fairy

Vesta LeRoy, a young girl living in rural Kansas, asked her mom if she could write a letter to the Tooth Fairy to donate her tooth money to people experiencing poverty instead of leaving it under her pillow.

“Why did I need the money when poor people don’t have any?” she asked.

Vesta’s generous heart inspired her parents to dream about what generosity might look like in their kids’ lives.

“My wife and I told our kids they can take whatever money they receive to help others.” Sean LeRoy, Vesta’s dad, said.

The timely advertisement
Soon after, their church bulletin highlighted the opportunity through Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) to support ministry workers.

“As soon as I saw the advertisement, I thought, ‘Maybe this is it,’” Sean LeRoy shared.

The kids liked the idea, and the family decided to allow Vesta to give her Tooth Fairy money, but in addition—moving forward, every dollar Vesta and her brother, Cas, donate to help church workers, their parents match.

A unique donation
Al Koepke, senior development officer with LCEF, recalled when he noticed the donations.

“We just recently started accepting online financial donations,” he said. “And I noticed this unique five-dollar donation one week—then the next—then the next. I became curious and reached out to Mr. LeRoy to thank him and hear his LCEF story.”

Through lawn mowing, dishwashing, garden-weeding and trash-hauling, Cas and Vesta LeRoy bought new skateboards—and are making a kingdom impact by sharing their allowance funds with ministry workers through LCEF.

Teaching stewardship to the children in your life may start with the Tooth Fairy, birthday money or a day of chores. However, when we as adults invest in teaching healthy biblical stewardship to children, our time will pay eternal dividends. Start by sharing this inspiring story and then tell them about the many ways God makes available to share with others what He has given us.

Planning for Their Future
You love your family and may want to leave them enough to provide for their needs. Have you considered the appropriate amount of inheritance to give your heirs? While we all want to help our children and grandchildren, a lump sum inheritance may be too much for them to manage all at once.

Check out LCEF’s gift planning pages at lcef.org/guide for our free Wills Guide and other resources to support your heirs and church family.