Each
month Old Stone Church designates one mission partner as our focus
of the month. All loose change in the offering plate that month will
go toward the selected project.
Our
Mission Focus for
August, 2010 is
Old
Stone Education Center
On
the third floor of the Old Stone Center, a visitor would find
classrooms filled with young women studying Math and English for the
GED tests as well as learning parenting skills to better deal with
their young children. Those children, meanwhile, might be in the
large muscle room on the third floor playing or downstairs in one of
the classrooms on the first floor involved with other learning
activities. The Old Stone Education Center seeks to reach out to
young women who have not completed high school. The program not only
helps them earn their GED but also promotes developing options for
careers. Students are able to do internships to find out about
possible careers. Where appropriate, connections to college or other
schooling are developed. Health and well being and ways to help
their children grow and develop are also part of the program at the
Old Stone Center.
The teachers have been part of the Cleveland School System Adult
Education Program. The Director is elected by the Board of the Old
Stone Foundation which oversees the Center. Current members of the
board, who are also Old Stone members, are Harry Hatters, Steve
Lorenz and Judy Macuga. Your loose change in the offering plate will
go to support this program. The newest Mission project—Backpacks for
Kids—will also help students at the Center.
Backpacks for Kids
The Mission Committee approved becoming a part of a movement by
churches and community groups to provide backpacks for kids starting
school in a few weeks. The Committee decided to provide backpacks
for the students at the Old Stone Center for Education. A list of
supplies needed will appear as an insert in the weekly bulletin.
We’ll assemble the backpacks at the end of August.
Remember
to save the special
coupons labeled Box Tops for Education from General Mills and
Kimberly Clark products. A collection basket to receive the
coupons is located in the
Church Office. The Tremont Montessori Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) will redeem
the box tops for
school supplies for the students.
With our new commitment to Tremont Montessori, the Mission Committee
now has a solid mission direction which includes children through the
Old Stone Education Center and Tremont Montessori School, women in
transition, families facing homelessness, and the Goodrich-Gannett
Neighborhood House in Cleveland. Overseas we support the Stepping
Stones School's preschool program and teacher training program.
More
Old Stone Mission Partners