What is the Faith Fund?
What is the Faith Fund?
The Thomas Epting Faith Fund was created in honor of Thomas Epting, who left this world to return home to his Heavenly Father on November 25, 2006. When Thomas was four-years old, he was diagnosed with leukemia, and when he was seven, he had a relapse of leukemia.
Shortly before his 16th birthday, Thomas was diagnosed with brain tumors. Thomas courageously battled these diseases. Although he wanted to live and had dreams for the future, his faith was strong, and Thomas knew that his faith would sustain him in life or on the other side.
During Thomas’s illnesses, he received several “wish” gifts from friends and charitable foundations. These gifts helped Thomas stay connected with the world outside the hospital, greatly enriching the quality of his life. One gift was a computer, a gift that enabled Thomas to stay connected with friends and family through emails, to write stories and to play games, to watch movies and to read online books and articles. The gift of this computer was more than a gift; it was a life-line, an “escape,” the doorway to another world in which he was just a “normal” kid again.
The Thomas Epting Faith Fund is a “wish” granting foundation that benefits pediatric cancer patients in the Upstate area of South Carolina, Thomas’s home community. Recipients of the Thomas Epting Faith Fund receive a gift and something even greater; they learn how to have a relationship with Christ.
Most “wish” granting foundations that benefit pediatric cancer patients can only grant one gift per child, and, although these gifts are generous, some children may have relapses of their disease, and they need more than just a one-time gift. Often, pediatric cancer funds benefit children eighteen years old or younger, a technicality that prevents college-age students from being eligible for a “wish” gift that might enhance the quality of their life. The Thomas Epting Faith Fund helps young adults who might not be eligible for other wish-granting foundations, such as college age students, or children who may have already been granted a “wish” gift.
The Thomas Epting Faith Fund is unique because each gift also includes a Bible. Thus, each granted “wish” also comes with a greater gift, the news of God’s love and sacrifice through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ, which makes eternal life possible for us all. Also, each gift includes Thomas’s inspiring story of faith, even in the face of great trials.
Thomas’s life experience and his long battle with cancer gave him a unique perspective on life and on faith. Thomas had perfect faith, and even when faced with terrible adversity, he believed completely in God’s love and plan. Thomas believed that God would give him courage and comfort, even in the toughest of times. Thomas’s faith sustained him in life and in the long journey of his illness, a journey that ultimately led him home to his Heavenly Father.
The Thomas Epting Faith Fund wants to help other young people find the courage and comfort that Thomas found, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Renee Love