Helping Kids Excel in School | |
One of the best things we can do for the children we serve through our Joy & Gano Kids Clubs is to help them succeed in school. Many of the children severely lack basic reading and math skills, so we've extended the hours of our programs to provide instruction in these vital academic areas. To help make it possible we have been blessed by several grants from private foundations to address the situation. | |
Our Children's Ministries Director, Cheryl Chadwick, is a former teacher of children with Special Needs. She has been assessing the children's educational levels and planning activities for the kids that are both enjoyable and effective in addressing their academic needs. Our staff and regular volunteers have been happy to invest an extra hour each week at both centers to help our kids be more successful in school and in life! | |
One of the games we use to help children with numeration skills is “Racko”. Last week, one of our fifth graders enthusiastically asked his teachers, “Can we play that (math) game again?” We receive similar responses from most of the children because they're getting the kind of one-on-one attention and encouragement they need. The schools simply can't provide that level of support. | |
We are praising the Lord for His provision of staff and volunteers who care about our precious children’s spiritual and physical needs, but we need additional help to be more effective. Through the grants we received we now have the ability to hire several individuals for 3 hours per week to increase the number of teachers needed. If you would like to learn more about this, or you can suggest someone who would consider joining our team - such as a high school or college student or a retired person who would like to earn some extra money while making a difference in a child's life, please email Cheryl Chadwick at cheryl@missioncenters.org
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Community Celebration at Joy Center | |
This past month we celebrated “Las Fiestas Patrias” at Joy Center. Being in a heavily populated Hispanic area, we figured it was a great time to let ourselves be known to the community. We hosted a special event in which different church groups and individual volunteers came to help. By inviting the community to be a part of this event through the distribution of flyers, reaching out to the neighborhood schools, and going around in the car announcing the event, we had a great turn-out! 150 people came that night to enjoy our warm hand of fellowship and a presentation of the Gospel as they celebrated together. | |
Everyone had fun enjoying games, good food and a chance to win door prizes. One treat that made the night extra special was the live music provided by the Hispanic Congregation of The Woodlands First Baptist Church. We are so thankful that we get the opportunity to connect with the community and enjoy these type of events! | |
Helping Hands at Gano Center | |
We are so grateful to God for answering our prayers to send His people to provide assistance to the increasing number of people needing help. Matthew 9:37-38 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” So we did . . . and He responded in a great way! | |
The Gano Mission Center has experienced a steady increase in attendance, particularly in our homeless and senior adult programs. Our weekly homeless program provides a safe and relaxing haven for our participants to enjoy a home cooked meal, receive clothing, a bag filled with some essential needs, and hear an encouraging message from God's Word. Likewise, our weekly senior adult program provides a place where seniors can enjoy community with others, play games, have a home-cooked meal, and receive a message from the Word of God. We often reach out to churches to share volunteer opportunities to help us carry out these programs, and many churches answer the call from God to get involved. Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church has been helping us minister on the last Thursday of every month. Their volunteers say, “We enjoy coming to Gano to serve the seniors and we look forward to coming every month.” | |
Bear Creek Baptist Church has also started to help us with the senior’s program. Pastor Danny said, “We want to be committed with Mission Centers of Houston by helping with the senior adult program and beyond.” Woodridge Baptist Church came to help on a Monday homeless program where they cooked and served a meal, provided worship and shared a powerful word from the Bible. As MCH regularly serves in these various ministries it is a breath of fresh air when churches and corporate groups bring helping hands. To God be the Glory!!! | |
Increasing School Attendance
With Compassion
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This month, The Compassion Center connected with Wisdom High School to help construct a plan to impact student attendance. We had the privilege of meeting with school and local leaders to see what we can do to raise attendance across the school to 90%. As a result, we are developing different incentive programs for students to attend class as well as provide them with basic resources such as school supplies, hygiene items, school uniforms and Metro cards. In many cases, when students lack these basic resources, they act as a deterrent to school attendance. | |
In October we will launch a collaborative plan with local church partners and nonprofit ministries to begin making a difference at Wisdom High School. We are also praying that the love and compassion we show to the students and their families will lead to opportunities to meet their spiritual needs as well! If you are interested in getting involved in this effort, please email David Cripps at david@missioncenters.org or Jeff Chadwick at jeff@missioncenters.org. We'd love to have you on the team! | |
Volunteer Spotlight
Faithbridge Church
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Every fall, Faithbridge Church has a church-wide serve day where their members go outside the walls to minister across the city. When we received a call from the church asking us if they could bring a group of 20 to Mission Centers of Houston we were ecstatic! The timing was perfect as it was the time of the year when we needed to restock homeless clothing and hygiene items and to organize the large amount of donated fall and Halloween items given to us by Walmart. These items will be made available to bless the community members we serve. | |
Throughout the morning the entire group went on a prayer walk to pray for God's protection and favor for the neighborhood. We praise God for the way He brings His people together to serve others in the name of Jesus Christ. Our new partnership with Faithbridge is a testimony to that, and we can't wait to see what will happen next. Already we are discussing ways in which the youth at their church can serve with us next summer. Stay tuned! | |
Our newest 'Goods-In-Kind' partner, Costco Wholesale, will enable MCH to expand our outreach efforts and increase our impact in the community. This partnership will provide us with a steady supply of nutritious food, hygiene products, household products and other vital items that are critical to the well-being of those we serve. | |
Costco’s dedication to focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services aligns seamlessly with our mission, and their generosity exemplifies the spirit of giving that has blessed Mission Centers of Houston for decades. In addition to food and household goods, Costco is helping with financial contributions that will enable us to expand educational programs and provide emergency assistance to those in crisis. | |
We are also grateful for Costco's dedicated employees who take time to pull product and select the donations that fit our profile. Their care and commitment to provide items that have the most impact in our neighborhoods exemplifies the company's mission to make a difference. | |
Thank you for your support and encouragement as we continue to meet the physical and spiritual needs of people living in Houston's inner city with the love, mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.
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