MAKING A DIFFERENCE
By Chris Woodard Mission Director
Chris: chrisw@vpc.church
VPC has been collaborating with MentorKidsUSA for over 10 years! MKUSA strives to work with children, families, and communities in their Promise Neighborhoods to connect disconnected children and teens (those with limited educational resources and support); empowering them to live into their God-given potential. In Maricopa County, there are 75,000 children and youth considered disconnected, accounting for approximately $1.1 billion dollars in penal, governmental, and social service costs. That is why this has been an incredible ministry partnership; God continues to change the lives of those involved. This is how one of VPC’s Community Groups is getting involved and making a difference: PADRES CONECTAR The people of VPC’s community group, Kaleidoscope, have been working with MKUSA in their North Phoenix Promise neighborhood at Palomino Primary School for the past few years. Through the partnership with MKUSA and Palomino, they have created and implemented a program called Padres Conectar— which serves over 40 families and 150 children, teens, and adults. The program is designed to help parents understand the educational system and how to best support their children so they can be successful through their High School graduation. Community involvement is crucial. Financial support, supplies, meals, and volunteer support come from VPC. Paradise Valley High School provides programming, event coordination, and adult and student volunteers. Programming focuses on topics brought to us by parents as well as those we see daily in our work with students and families. Padres Conectar discussions include homework strategies, communicating with schools, effective parent-teacher conferences, communication within families, and preparation for post-secondary educational opportunities. We meet quarterly in the evening and provide dinner and childcare during the program. The programs are entirely in Spanish and involve a presentation and small group discussions. The hope is that participants will gain an understanding of the expectations and components needed to be successful in the educational system. It is also the hope that as community is formed among the participants, they support each other and feel empowered to reach out to each other, the schools, MKUSA and the church. -Beth Glady, VPC Member
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VPC volunteers at Padres Conectar
