Don’t Miss CAST Blast

May 2024 Newsletter

Don't forget-CAST Blast this week!

Happy Memorial Day!

Please plan to join us this Wednesday for CAST Blast. This year is particularly special as we honor Ken Brunner, who is retiring as principal of Early College High School. Ken’s dedication and leadership have profoundly shaped not only the Early College High School, but our community too. This celebration is a wonderful opportunity to express our gratitude.

Recently, Taylor and I had the privilege of attending the senior dinner for Early College High School. The evening was filled with joyous celebration, delicious food, and inspiring speeches from our remarkable students. Witnessing their achievements and hearing their visions for the future was incredibly uplifting and a true testament to the bright future that lies ahead.

I’m already looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday! (I will likely be in line at the ice cream truck!)

With gratitude,

Sonja White

Executive Director

JRC Fashion Show

This year’s annual Fashion Show at the JRC Center was a huge success thanks to all the hard work, coordination and love put into it by Lesley Venturella. With styled hair, makeup, nails and even local firemen to escort the lovely ladies down the red carpet, the day was filled with fashion and fun! The JRC Fashion Show has been a CAST tradition for years and we are so thankful for Lesley and everything she does to make the day possible!

Enjoy these special pictures of the wonderful volunteers (#CASTkids included) who spent their afternoon setting up for the big day!

If you would like to link arms with the JRC Center, please use the button below to email Lesley! JRC is always looking for friendly faces to help make their day programs possible!

Connect with Lesley!

41 of our #CASTkids close this chapter in their lives and move on to the next and we are so proud of who they are and everything they have accomplished.

Despite starting their high school career in the middle of a world-wide pandemic, these students persevered through high school and college classes, participated in sports and extracuricculars, held part time jobs, learned how to drive and still made time to volunteer...Caring and Serving Together. No amount of praise will ever truly show just how proud we are of the class of 2024!

Mrs. Patty Hairston, our Early College High School CAST Advisor with seniors Maddie King and Sam Cruz.

Another special note, at this years Early College May Celebration Mrs. Hairston was voted "the biggest heart" by the students....we simply could not agree more! Mrs. Hairston's heart simply shines for her students as she encourages them to grow both inside and out of the classroom. Encouragement, motivation, celebration, tough love, or just a motherly hug...she is always there to support her students when they need her!,

Celebrating our Seniors!

McKinley High School Class of 2024!

May is such a bittersweet time for our #CASTkids. Right as we are gearing up for our busiest month of the year, we are also saying "goodbye" and "congratulations" to our seniors.

This May, 12 seniors have earned a CAST honor cord that will be worn with their cap and gown during their McKinley High School Graduation. Wearing the green cord indicates that the student has achieved the highest level of service hours with CAST during their four years in High School! This year’s cord recipients are:

Gianna Adams (ECHS)
Savannah Brunner (ECHS)
Samuel Cruz (ECHS)
Maddie King (ECHS)
Marlon (MoeMoe) Quintero (ECHS)
Marla Sanchez (ECHS)
Cass Smith (ECHS)
Judas Smith (ECHS)
Niaemah Smith (McKinley HS)
Alani Strader (ECHS)
Katelyn Wessle (ECHS)

#CASTkid Sam Cruz had the distinct honor of speaking at the Early College Senior Dinner! We are so proud of Sam and the young man he has grown into. Sam is a wonderful representation of what a proud Early College Graduate looks like and his character and love for the Lord truly highlights the meaning of CAST.

Early College "college signing day" is such a fun new traditionthat Early College Students get to partipate in! Another day to celebrate everything they have to look forward to!

Aliquippa

We are so excited to be heading to Aliquippa...THIS WEEKEND with a group of 14 students and 4 young adult leaders. As we head into this weekend, please pray for safe travels, beautiful weather, for students’ hearts to be open and for those we are serving in Aliquippa to experience Jesus's love!

While in Aliquippa, students will have two full days of volunteering, the opportunity to learn more about Jesus, pray one sentence prayers, camp, swim, hike, eat lots of yummy food and build meaningful relationships with their leaders and peers. We are so excited to see what the Lord has in store for this weekend!

Did you know that it costs $175 for a student to attend Aliquippa? In addition, students need tents, air mattresses and sleeping bags. We firmly believe that finances should never impact a student’s ability to participate...if you would like to financially support our annual missions trip to Aliquippa, please use the button below to give.

Donate to the Aliquippa Scholarship Fund

Caring And Serving Together

We love that so many of our awesome adult CAST members love to volunteer with The Akron Canton Regional Food Bank! Our time voluteering at the food bank truly highlights the sentiment that "many hands make light work." During one of our recent visits, some of our CAST members were captured by the Canton Repository! We have included the article so that you can take a peek for yourself.

We are just a couple short weeks away from Blessing Boot Camp 2024! If you know a student entering grades 4-8 who has a heart to give back to their community please use the QR code below to sign them up!

#CASTkids....continue to shine!

We are so excited to announce that some of our wonderful CAST leaders, Zariyah, Tooba and Nick have all been voted as Early College High School Class Representatives! Together, these three students make such a dynamic leadership team — full of wisdom, compassion and flexibility. These are three of the many CAST students who helped rebuild #CASTKids post pandemic and we are SO EXCITED to watch as they continue to grow and lead their peers during the 2024-2025 school year.

Caring and Serving Together CAST