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OUTREACH MINISTRY - 
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS MENTORING PROGRAMS

What difference can one hour a week of your time make in the life of a child? A tremendous difference! So many young people in our community live in families under great pressures due to family conflict, poverty, divorce, unemployment, drug abuse and other reasons. These children may have no adult that can provide the extra attention, guidance and sense of direction they need. Communities in Schools (CIS) has a mentoring program at four sites: Bellwood and Chalkley Elementary, Perrymont Middle and Chesterfield Community High School. Mentors are community volunteers who offer support and guidance by making a connection with their student, gaining his or her trust and fostering respect. Mentors pay individual attention to students and address non-academic issues which may be interfering with academic success.

A display will be set up in the narthex during the month of September. If you want to learn more about the mentoring program, pick up some information at the display table or talk with SPC members who have been involved in the program at Chalkley School, Nancy Coffey, Claudia Gregg or Scott Lau. CIS coordinators at the different schools can also be contacted for more information. They are: Jay Swedenborg at Bellwood Elementary, Quita Collins at Chalkley Elementary, Lisa Rockwell at Perrymont Middle and Barbara Micou at Chesterfield Community High. Share a small amount of your time (one hour a week) and make a big difference in the life of a child.

SPC has had a partnership with Chalkley School for several years. The Outreach Committee budgets $1,000.00 per year to help purchase supplies and clothing for children in need at the school. Individuals from SPC volunteer as mentors and several of our members have participated in the Bright Beginnings program.

Listed below are ways, other than mentoring, in which you can assist the Chalkley School:

• Donate quality elementary paperback books to be given to students to read and keep at home
• Donate "like new" stuffed animals for the CIS reading buddies program
• Help with the Chalkley Angel Tree-assistance that is offered to Chalkley families during the Christmas
  holiday
• Assist with the winter clothing drive-new coats, heavy sweatshirts, hats and gloves
• Participate in the Chalkley Book and Breakfast Club as a discussion facilitator, held three times a year
• Volunteer in an individual classroom, assisting the teacher with small groups
• Volunteer to be a career presenter during career week in April 2003
• Donate clothing items for the school clinic - belts, sweat pants in all sizes for boys and girls, underwear in all sizes for boys and girls, socks for boys and girls, tee shirts (not underwear) in all sizes for boys and
  girls
• Donate school supplies that students never seem to have enough of - rest mats, paint smocks, scissors, colored index cards, index card file boxes, sharpie markers, notebook dividers, water bottles, packages
  of 24 pencil erasers, marble notebooks, magic markers, colored pencils, erasable ball point pens, 2" floppy notebooks, 3 ring binders, red ball point pens, zippered pencil holders to put in a notebook and wide rule spiral notebooks
  
  Call Quita Collins, the CIS site coordinator at Chalkley School, 674-1783, or contact Sue Casey of the Outreach Committee, 794-7115, if you wish to make donations or help in any other way.
  
  
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  Copyright © 2000-2009 - Salisbury Presbyterian Church, Midlothian, VA
  Last update: 10 January 2009