19 May One of the Most Meaningful Things

One of the most meaningful things we do here at the church is what happens day in and day out over at Live Oak Elementary, over on Anderson Mill Road.

We have been involved with the school over the last 6 years, starting with just a handful of mentors in 2011. Now, having completed our sixth year of involvement, we:

• send 15-20 mentors in every week.
• provide food for 15 children over every weekend during the school year
• host 2-3 appreciation breakfasts for teachers every year
• provide Christmas gifts for 60-70 families from Live Oak every year
• provide Christmas gifts for teachers and staff every year
• Have been recognized repeatedly as their “Partner of the Year”

Just this past week, we were recognized again as their Partner of the Year, for all we provide for the school. Pictured with me are Kristin Lafferty, who is Mosaic’s coordinator for all our volunteer work there, and also with us is Nora Ellis, who was selected as Live Oak’s Mentor of the Year. I can tell you from just being around Nora, she is passionate about helping young people and does a tremendous job every week with the young man she comes to visit.

Thank you, Kristin, and way to go Nora and way to go, us!

I would like to add one thing that I think will encourage you. Although this year each school hosted their own volunteer appreciation breakfast, up until now the district has always hosted a large, all schools-wide appreciation breakfast, and from attending those I can tell you one thing that I was surprised to find, but in retrospect, really shouldn’t have been:

At nearly every school, the partner of the year was a church.

At nearly every school, the main source of energy and hours and volunteers and mentors is the Church of Jesus.

Put it like this: if the churches were to go away, there would be a massive drop-off in desperately needed help and service to at-risk kids and schools.

The point is, the church of Jesus Christ is amazing, and shows up in the city.

You’re never going to see it on the news, you’re never going to hear it in forums that bash the church or criticize it, but every day there are thousands of Christians that go into schools and seek to bring the shalom of Jesus to kids who can’t read, who don’t have enough to eat, or who don’t have someone in their life to help them believe that they can do it!

The fifth grader I mentor, whom I met when he was in first grade shortly after a terrible tragedy struck his family, went from not being able to read at grade level to just now scoring the highest category of reading on the STAAR test. When the principal told me, I started to choke up, thinking about how far he had come! Now, his teachers definitely had the most to do with it, but I’d like to think that I also had something to do with it, reading to him week in and week out for several years, in the hallways, in the library, in vacant classrooms.

Again, thank you for your support of the ministry that takes place over there week in and week out, whether you are a mentor, whether you give financially when able to help with the food and gifts we provide, or if you are just a cheerleader for people who do.

If you’d like to be a mentor next year, click here.

Thanks! And go team!

Morgan