COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Members of Compassion International’s Fill the Stadium team are extremely grateful and honor those who have participated in this life-saving initiative as they share remarkable news: this week, the $35 million goal has been surpassed for the Fill the Stadium effort, which has provided critical food, medical care and support for more than 76,000 of the 2.2 million children in Compassion’s programs whose access to support was interrupted by COVID-19 shutdowns.

With the impressive goal reached, the Compassion team is ready to carry on with the campaign into the new year. There are even more children around the world in need of critical food, medical care, and other support.

Leaders of Fill the Stadium are Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, CEO and president of Compassion International (www.compassion.com), a Christ-centered, church-driven ministry dedicated to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, and Steve Stenstrom, president of Pro Athletes Outreach. Together, they launched Fill the Stadium in March 2020.

Fill the Stadium grew out of a vision that Stenstrom had. Stenstrom commented,

“After talking with Jimmy about the impact of the pandemic shutdowns on Compassion’s programs, I learned 70,000 children Compassion had just registered would have no hope for sponsorship support because of COVID cancelations. We didn’t know then that it would also lead to a hunger crisis. As a former professional quarterback, I realized 70,000 is the same size as an NFL stadium. From that moment forward, we knew that while other stadiums were empty last year, this was a stadium that couldn’t remain empty.”

“COVID has created a global economic and humanitarian crisis. It has had a devastating impact on the lives of the population that Compassion International serves,” said Mellado. “We realized right away it would take a movement to respond to a problem of this magnitude, and movements require leadership.”

Compassion International

Compassion International is a Christian child development organization working to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Founded in 1952, Compassion partners with more than 8,000 local churches in 25 program countries to deliver spiritual, economic, social, and physical care to over two million babies, children, and young adults in poverty.

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