FCC Church Member Helps Keep Students Warm During Winter
When asked weekly during the closing of church service, 'Where do you see brokenness in the world around you?', FCC member Angela Hendricks immediate thought is always, 'So many places...'.
As an educator of 14 years in a high poverty school Angela seen many things, both good and bad. The work she and her colleagues do is incredibly challenging, but according to her is more rewarding that words can express. That being said, many of the 5 and 6 year old students at their school need so much.
Wintertime brings specific needs to mind as this is often the time of year when it is easiest to see what kids do and do not have.
Some of the youngest students come in inadequately dressed during the winter months. It is often when they bundle them for dismissal that teachers notice the needs as many discard outerwear before entering classrooms in the morning. With 18 buses to load, noticing who has multiple layers instead of a coat, faulty shoes, no socks, or a lack of gloves or hat is more than stressful! There simply is no time for an impromptu trip to the Family Resource Center at this time of the day.
Too many times Angela has driven home wishing she'd noticed certain needs sooner, praying that students were by then safe and warm somewhere.
To help meet the needs her students face, Angela applied for a Wholeness Ministry Grant. The grant has provided more than enough funding to purchase winter supplies to fill the closet in her classroom for these last-minute, emergency needs. It is an invaluable resource in her wing of the building and will provide gloves, socks, and hats to any who need them. Multiple sizes of jackets, coats, and shoes will also be available to (and within close proximity of) 5 kindergarten classrooms, immediately serving over 120 students.
In addition to their 'Cold Hands, Warm Hearts Closet', the Wholeness Ministry Grant provided a new winter coat, hat, and gloves to 12 kindergarten and first grade students who had already showed need by the start of November 2017.
Angela and her colleagues are excited to serve many more of Shelby's 735 students in the upcoming months! They are also very thankful that this winter will now be a little warmer for many deserving families.
"My students, colleagues, and I thank you so much for being a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world!" Angela Hendricks
The wholeness grant used to fund this ministry was made possible through your faithful financial support of our church and its ministries and help fund a variety of efforts to make our world a better place. You can find more examples of those efforts or apply for a grant to make the world a better place by clicking here.