Recent text message from a parent

Omg thanks so much u guys. Thank u for being there for my son. Can't thank u enough.

Eagle Rock Students wins National Art Contest

We are so proud of 1st grader Adam Segura! The artwork he created with his mentor Grace Michelman, was entered in the National Kids Hope Competition and chosen as one of four winners nationwide! :) Adams mom, dad and grandpa came to the Kids Hope room when we announced the good news! Congratulations Adam!!!

Day of Hope

15 women volunteered at Eagle Rock Elementary this weekend, and they worked their hearts out! They accomplished so much: painting over graffiti, clearing out several garden areas making them ready to plant (by students), cleaned classrooms, organized the basement, got rid of outdated textbooks, dusted the halls and windows, and left notes in the teachers boxes.Thank you SO much for spending your Saturday blessing our school!

The school has gone from three custodians down to one (due to budget cuts), so Max, our lone custodian was incredibly appreciative. I secretly love it when the school is shocked and amazed by our presence there and our willingness to serve them.

Here is a typical exchange between me and the teachers.
Teacher: "Why would these women want to spend their Saturday cleaning our school?"
SD: "Because they care about tangibly loving our neighbors and community "
Teacher: "Hmm, that's really amazing, I don't quite get it" :)

The feedback I've gotten has been very positive:

Dear Kids Hope- Thank you for helping to clean up my classroom. What a difference it makes to have clean walls! We're so grateful to have your programs support at our school. Students, teachers, and parents appreciate your presence and generosity. Sincerely, Ms. Vuong, room 17



Sarah, Thank you! The team of volunteers was wonderful and accomplished a lot. We are eternally grateful for everything you and the church group have done for us at Eagle Rock Elementary. You are our angels.
Lourdes Ortiz Principal

Hi Sarah,

I was so happy to open up school for your organization. You are truly an amazing group and we are blessed to have you at Eagle Rock. You do not need to thank me, we are the ones who should be thanking you! Everyone was awesome on Saturday. I could not believe how much they got done...and all with a smile. Very uplifting! They even shared lunch with us...and boy, was it yummy!

I am always happy to help in any way that I can. You ROCK!!!
Maura Simon
Magnet Coordinator

Community Connections

Our new principal came up to me last week to talk with me about a "special case" for Kids Hope. It turns out that a student at Eagle Rock Elementary who is in foster care, was going to be removed from her home (and split up from her biological brothers) because her caregiver wasn't able to pick her up from school until 6pm. Originally Ms. Ortiz contacted me to see if this little one could be in Kids Hope every day after school. And, while that would be wonderful, it's not how our program is set up! So I told her I would look into another solution.

A few months prior, I had gone to a "Community Connections" meeting here in Eagle Rock. I met Damon Williams, the guy organizing the connection event, at Eagle Rock Elementary. His son was in the same class as the little girl I mentor, so we would often chat as we waited for the bell to ring. He wanted different groups within Eagle Rock who were working in the community to get together, and to be aware of each other. At that June meeting, I met Stephen Kia, the new president of The Rock Community Center on Yosemite Boulevard. At the meeting we exchanged phone numbers. And then forgot about it.

As I was trying to figure out a solution for this child that would keep her with her brothers, I talked with our DCFS connections to see if there would be any services available but didn't get anywhere. Then I remembered the conversation Stephen and I had had at the community connections event in the summer. I dialed his number. Wouldn't you know that The Rock is now open and offer free tutoring services Mon-Friday from 3-6pm for kids in grades K-12! Kids sign in and out (meeting the requirements of the state for our friend from Eagle Rock) and tutors from Occidental College are there each day to help the kids with their homework. I was elated!
This meant that not only could our student get to go there, but her brothers (who are in high school) as well! It was one of those days where I could see God working-behind the scenes-for the well being of this family. I could see how He had set things in place long ago for these kids to be protected and kept together. I love when I get glimpses of what He's doing in our community, and His heart for children! And I love that our new principal saw us as a resource and asked if we could help! :)

In Her Own Words

One afternoon, this precious note was scrawled on the chalkboard by one of our Kids Hope kids:

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Fernanda who had a mentor. She was nice and pretty and hopeful. They liked to do hard and fun work." There were many things that jumped out to me, but the word that struck me so much was "hopeful". That a second grader would notice this as a characteristic of her mentor both surprised and delighted me!

Lord, continue to use us as agents of Hope for children at Eagle Rock Elementary!

It also reminded me of a poem I read, back in the days when I was a classroom teacher. I'll post it here too:

Rain

"A teacher asked Paul

what he would remember

from third grade and he sat

a long time before writing

'this year somebody tutched me

on the shoulder'

and turned his paper in.

Later she showed it to me

as an example of her wasted life.

The words he wrote were lage

as houses in a landscape.

He wanted to go inside them

and live, he could fill in

the windows of "o" and "d"

and be safe while outside

birds building nexts in drainpipes

knew nothing of the coming rain."

-Naomi Shybab Nye

This poem has often reminded me of the great needs our students have, and the things they will remember about elementary school. I am so thankful, that not only do our students have someone who will touch them on the shoulder (and hug them!) but they have someone to offer them a weekly reminder that their little lives matter, that school can be a safe place (a shelter from the coming rain)...that there is reason to hope!

Room 16

Greetings from room 16! If you are visual, like I am, this might help you picture where/how the mentoring sessions happen. Mentors and kids all meet in this room together for their mentoring sessions (which primarily happen after school, with a few exceptions). We have tried to make it a welcoming place where the kids can grow and learn, and most importantly feel loved!

The Birthday Board--the hive says "Happy B-day" & the kids get

to wear our fun birthday hat when it's their birthday!

Our growing library! Kids Hope kids are learning to be great readers!!

Where the mentors/kids sit as they work together.

Our welcome sign.

Returning kids are "apples" new kids are "stars"! :)

The Numbers

I thought these numbers might be of interest:

1--> person it takes to change the course of a child's life :)

2--> # of boys in our program who live with their biological father

4--> # of kids coming from a 2 parent home

5--> # of returning kids with a new mentor & days a week mentoring sessions happen

8--> # of kids with incarcerated parents

9--> # of parent permission slips we're still waiting on

15--> # of new kids in the program this fall

16--> # of the classroom the kids/mentors meet in each week

17--> # of male mentors

28--> # of boys in the program

30--> # of kids returning to the same mentor as last year

38--> # of kids/mentors currently meeting as of this posting (12 more pairs to go!)

48--> # of kids in our program qualifying for free/reduced lunch program

50--> # of kids in Kids Hope this fall (this = 50 mentors+ 50 prayer partners & 10 SuperSubs)

60-->minutes a week a mentor spends with a child

137--> # of weekly volunteers from CA it takes to run this program