Wess Stafford could be a rising star among evangelical leaders, filling his days with speaking engagements and guest appearances on TV talk shows.

He could be driving a luxury car, living in a mansion and coasting on his achievements as CEO and president of Colorado Springs-based Compassion International.

He wants none of it.

His life is all about helping poverty-stricken kids in the world through the faith-based organization he’s run for 16 years.

“I think I got this job because I care more than anybody else,” Stafford says.

Read the rest of the article at the gazette.com, as well as some edited excerpts from the interview.

Edouard Lassegue is the Vice President of our Central America and Caribbean Region. He talks about our efforts to stem the food crisis in Guatemala.

Phil Fleischman of Prime Time America interviewed Rachel Wolf, World Vision’s Communications Director for International News, and our own Mark Hanlon, Senior Vice President of the USA Group.

The eight-minute segment aired on Moody Radio on July 31.

When it comes to achievement, repeats are impressive. Three-peats are utterly amazing. Any ideas on what we call an eight-peat?

In the world of charities, this translates to “exceptional.” For eight consecutive years, we have been awarded Charity Navigator’s highest rating – four stars – for responsible financial management.

But who is Charity Navigator?

Evaluating more than 5,400 charities each year, Charity Navigator is the largest independent evaluator of charities in the nation. Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, describes our achievement:

“Only 1 percent of the charities we rate have received at least eight consecutive four-star evaluations, indicating that Compassion International consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in America. This ‘exceptional’ designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Compassion International from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust.”

This coveted designation is particularly important today as charitable giving is down across the nation. In these tough economic times, everyone is looking for ways to stretch the dollar, and that includes charitable dollars.

For Compassion, though, fiscal responsibility is only part of the charitable equation.

As you know, we work tirelessly to bring hope to one needy child, where once only hopelessness existed. We do this more than 1 million times each day, but in unique and personal ways.

This is our calling and our passion: to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. We do this while staying committed to our cornerstone practice of financial stewardship.

This is the byline on a recent op-ed piece in The Miami Herald:
“Edouard Lassegue is the Vice President of the Latin America and Caribbean Region at Compassion International, the world’s largest Christian child development organization.”

And this is why Edouard says we should care about what is happening in Honduras:

Poverty in Central American countries is the foundation for all other social justice issues. Honduras maintains an unemployment rate of 28 percent, and two-thirds of its citizens live below the poverty line. The instability the country is currently experiencing is not rooted in politics — it is social. It is hopelessness and destitution.

When Central American economies fail to produce opportunities and jobs — and if governments cannot protect citizens — populist demagogues promising reform but continuing the status quo are elected.

Where poverty flourishes, crime and corruption flourish. This is what we are currently witnessing in Honduras.

Read the entire op-ed piece in The Miami Herald.

Giving back to the community has become chic for many who are in the public eye and have the resources to do so, but for St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, it isn’t about what’s fashionable or what looks good. It’s about being faithful to a God, Who has given him much, and helping the children he loves in his native Dominican Republic.

As Albert steps off one of Major League Baseball’s many well-manicured baseball diamonds, he often finds himself stepping onto the dusty streets of the Dominican Republic. But he’s not coming to play baseball, nor is he coming to instill in the children who live the way he once lived a love of the game he is now famous for.

His mission is to provide to those who are less fortunate something we in the United States take for granted – rectangular mattresses to sleep on.

For many of the world’s poor in places such as the Dominican Republic, a mattress isn’t a necessity: It’s a luxury. For Albert, this is a tangible and lasting way to use baseball as a ministry in his homeland. Through his partnership with Compassion, he is able to provide to those less fortunate something that will last for months and years to come.

But it’s not just mattresses that Albert is providing to the people of the Dominican Republic. To find out what else he’s doing, read his story in the summer issue of Compassion Magazine.

Remember Jordan? 17-years old. Raised $500,000 for the Bite Back campaign.

Well, she’s going to be interviewed on CNN.com Live today at 3:30 p.m. EDT. And if you miss the interview, it’ll be archived on CNN’s blog: Young People Who Rock.