We have had a good winter here at CH3, and things are starting to pick up as the weather turns more spring-like. We have had great success with the after school program that we launched in December. It is called CHASERs (Challenge House After School Enrichment) and meets on Tuesdays from 4:00-5:00pm. Our goal with this program is to introduce our neighbor kids to things they may not otherwise experience and to challenge them to do their best in everything. This program has allowed us to build some strong relationships in the neighborhood, with an average attendance of about 15 kids, ranging in age from 3 years old to middle school. We will take a break from CHASERs once school finishes up in May, since the summer is already booking up with lots of fun stuff! We are looking to expand the Little Red Wagon reading program that our home church (Second Baptist Church) has hosted at the house the last couple of years. We are going to try to run it for 8 weeks (June 10 - July 29), instead of the usual 4 weeks. This means that we will need more volunteers to be readers and more help with providing lunch each week. We will likely need book donations, too, especially titles that are appealing to older elementary children. Please pray about how you can help with this.
We already have a 2 Backyard Bible clubs tentatively scheduled for July and several other things in the works! If you or your organization would like to plug-in to the Challenge House movement, please feel free to contact us via email @lori.kirkman@gmail.com.
As we wrap up CHASERs and approach summer, here are some things we could use donated:
Items needed for a couple of "messy" science activities for CHASERs:
(40) 4 oz bottles of liquid white glue
(20) empty plastic water bottles
(20) small boxes baking soda
(10) bottles white vinegar
(20) mini bottles liquid dish wash detergent
(5) boxes food coloring
And, we always need snacks:
Koolaid mix
PB or cheese crackers
fruit cups
pudding
fruit roll ups/chews
fresh fruit
pretzels
As always, we thank you for you continued support and prayers as we minister here on the West Side!
