Written by Pastor Greg Rensberry, Pastor, Mapleview Free Methodist Church, Niles, MI I started mentoring Cody* at the start of his kindergarten year. From the beginning of our friendship, I could feel his distance and anxiousness. He was withdrawn and I knew he was afraid to trust me. One day I arrived at school and …
Contributed by: Anne Broaddus, Director Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, Waco, Texas Davina Pennington, Regional Director, South and Southwest, Kids Hope USA In 2009 our principal asked us to pray for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders as they took the state mandated tests. She assigned each child a number on a master list of student names, …
Written by Kara Nguyen, Kids Hope USA Director of Development and Kari McLennan, Kids Hope USA Program Support Specialist For 17 years, Mr. Gary has been a Kids Hope USA mentor through his local church. He’s invested countless hours into the lives of kids in his community, and when the opportunity came to start with …
Dr. Emilie DeYoung, Winning at Home, Inc. It’s no secret that this past year has ushered in significant changes for folks around the world. Not one area of the globe has been immune to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, many of us have developed new understandings of words like ‘lock down,’ ‘Zoom,’ ‘virtual learning,’ or ‘quarantine.’ …
Guest Post by Karen Mulder As a Kids Hope USA mentor, you understand this fundamental truth: your student, like all human beings, wants to be known and valued. And that’s why mentoring is so powerful—it shows others that we value them by spending time with them. However, during this time of social distancing, you may …
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Christmas reminds us that gifts come in all shapes and sizes, and the monetary value or usefulness of a gift is far less meaningful than the intent, especially when given by a child. Chase was a happy kid and he loved spending time with his mentor, Ken. He was open to doing his schoolwork, playing …
Jan and Evelyn have walked together on an unexpected journey of friendship for more than 7 years! They met when Evelyn was a 4th grader at Jane Addams Elementary in Palatine, Illinois. At that time, Evelyn was having a tough year in school and really needed some encouragement. She was a very quiet girl but each week, Jan …
Jacob & Skylar-Jay became friends three years ago; Skylar-Jay was starting kindergarten and Jacob was leaning into a pull from God to serve as a Kids Hope USA mentor through his church, College Wesleyan. Little did they know that three years later, they would still be great friends! Skylar-Jay was referred to Kids Hope USA …
“I can’t read! You know that, Kara.” my 1st grade friend shared with me. “I know you can do it – I believe in you. Let’s do it together,” I replied. That was pretty typical for our conversations those first few weeks. Continually encouraging my new friend that I believed in her, and if we worked …
“A person can always make time to make a difference.” That’s what Roger DeFeyter said 25 years ago when he met his first Kids Hope USA student at Pine Creek Elementary School. Dean was 7 years old, and after just 20 minutes of getting to know each other, he and Roger began to form a bond that would last for several …
