Prayer Partners Meeting

Dear Volunteers,
I know we are all anxiously awaiting to get started with our Kids Hope Mentoring program. It will be exciting to me to see the mentors and mentees relationships develop and thrive over time. But, we still have a couple meetings to attend. First on Thursday, the 23 of Sept we will have a meeting for all prayer partners and prayer volunteers---the mentors are invited to attend also as this will promote better communication and understanding. Then, as soon as we hear from the principle at Eastview, we will have an Orientation at the school. We will be prepared with God's help!!

Please pray for the principle and the teachers as they put all the details together.

The meeting will be at church on Sept 23 at 6:30. Please let me know is you cannot attend.

Co-laborers for Jesus, Alice

Training Day

Today, almost 30 gathered for the kick-off training for Mentors, Prayer Partners and Back-Up Mentors. It was awesome to see that many willing to give of their time and with a love for children. Director Alice Grieves and Events Coordinator Teka O'Neill walked us through the training DVD, with time for questions, comments, prayer and of course snacks and lunch. Thanks go out to the Women's Ministry and Karen and Shelley for the great lunch. There will still be another shorter session with the mentors and one for the prayer partners as well as we get closer to begin working with the school, so watch for those dates. I'll also be posting some pics from today's event so check back soon.

Supplies Needed for Mentors

As we get close to starting with the Kids Hope program at Eastview, Alice asked that I share that we have a need for children's books, age level grades 1-4 (no christian books) and also for games, flash cards, color books etc. for mentors to use. Also am in need of a bookshelf for the children's books. We have some funds budgeted for purchases such as these but anything you might have that could be used would be welcomed. If you would leave them in the office with a note that they are for Kids Hope, Alice will pick them up from there.


Thanks!

Letter from the Director

Dear KidsHope Volunteers,
Welcome to this new ministry---I am thrilled and honored that you said "yes" to this important calling and am looking forward to getting together on the 28th of August at 8:30 a.m.

We now have a Leadership Team, 14 mentors, 14 prayer partners and 2 sub-mentors.  God has proved faithful again and again!! 

I hope and pray that this training will be educational, uplifting, fun and a glory to God.  You will be encouraged and challenged.  We will learn and laugh, care and share.  You will be equipped to begin what you volunteered to do--love children in Christ's name.

Please know you are all special.  You are a gift to our church and neighborhood elementary school in general, and to at-risk children, in particular.  May our time together reflect the love of Christ and may His name be glorified.

                    "Now unto Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine"  Ephesians 3:20
Blessings and love to you in Christ's name,

Alice Grieves, Director

Frightening statistics

Close to a million homeless students attended U.S. public schools in 2008-2009. That was a 41 percent increase over the previous two years. (Source: "Schools report surge in homeless students," USAToday.com, July 31, 2010)
Can you even imagine the need here? In this environment, how can the learning process take place? Where are the incentives? The needs are huge!

Reminder about training

This is just a reminder about the Kids Hope training session August 28th for all this year's mentors, subs and prayer partners. We'd really like everyone to attend as we begin to build the team and it's a great chance for the prayer partners to get with the designated mentors (will be matched before this training). The session starts at 8:30am with coffee and rolls and will run until after lunch. Also, Alice wanted me to be sure to remind the mentors to please get fingerprints done asap. Remember to make an appointment. Questions, call or email Alice. I know it seems like a long way off but school starts back for Eastview on August 18th and we're hoping to have the mentors matched with the children soon after the open house and be in the schools by October.

Kids Hope Director Training

Our Director, Alice Grieves, attended this year's February training session in St. Charles, Il. For pictures from the session, check out this flickr set.

Here's Director Grieves...3rd from the left.

What's Your Motivation

Found this article in Christianity Today thought provoking and it was even more so when I discovered who the author was...check it out!

Training Date Set

Kids Hope USA Training:
All those who have expressed an interest in being a Kids Hope mentor, back-up mentor or prayer partner...we will be having a training session on Saturday, Aug 28th beginning at 8:30am until 1:30pm, with lunch provided. All are encouraged to attend, as this will be the only training session. Questions, contact Alice Grieves at alice.grieves@gmail.com. Hope to see you there.

Welcome

Glad you've found us! As the Communications Coordinator for the Canton Ill Evangelical Free Church's Kids Hope USA ministry, it's my desire to use any and all avenues of communication available to keep our mentors, back-up mentors, prayer partners and church body informed of events, important dates, ways to be involved, etc and to provide a way of getting your feedback on the program. I'll be updating our web site at http://www.evfreecanton.org periodically, as well as adding events to our calendar. Our monthly newsletter will highlight the coming month's activities and of course there's always email and Facebook for more critical communication so be sure to send me your email address or Facebook profile name.