AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM LAUNCHES!
It was an exciting first week of the YOU CAN ACADEMY After School program in North Richmond. Over 31 students ranging in grades Kindergarten to 5th grade have registered and are meeting in the Brazos Bend Villa Community Center! Students are so excited to have a place to enjoy a snack, learn about God, play and get help with homework. Thank you to the Friends of North Richmond volunteers and Fort Bend Christian Academy volunteers for serving this week!
We want to help encourage students to take personal responsibility to achieve all the things they don’t think they can do. YOU CAN …dream, achieve, hope, pass, grow, learn, succeed, attend college, etc.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13
Here are ways YOU CAN help
Choose a day – Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday from 2:30 – 5:00 PM
Volunteers needed to help with:
- Math homework;
- Help with recreational activities;
- Lead a Math or Science project;
- Bring snacks;
-Pray for the students;
-Share your talent, your work or hobby interest; etc.
Why YOU CAN ACADEMY? A conversation to help answer that:
While setting up one afternoon in the community center, a little girl, we’ll name Nancy came in to ask what we were doing. I said, “We are getting ready to start an after school program for kids your age.” Nancy said, “Oh good, I want to come.” “Great, what grade are you in?” She said, “I’m in 3rd grade, but I took a test today and this man is going to tell me if I passed or failed tomorrow. If I failed I have to go back. I know I failed ”. Volunteer, Karen Showalter heard this and together we began to explain how pre-testing is done early in the school year and it was not an indication of failure. We told her not give up trying her best and that we knew she could do it! Nancy is one of the most dedicated students attending YOU CAN ACADEMY!
To volunteer, contact Becky Watts at beckyw@riverpointe.org or 281.277.6767 ext 228
Come join us!
Click here to join us for the 2011 Friends of North Richmond Mission Week. This year we are going to have a variety of events, such as Kids’ Camp and construction projects. Below is a list of areas where we are in need of assistance (no experience necessary):
- Food team for kids (we need a team to help us provide food for the kids)
- Volunteer food crew (team to provide food for volunteers)
- Recreation
- Small group leader
- Art and crafts
- Decoration and props
- Photography
- Medical team (we need one person to cover Tuesday only)
- Set up and Tear Down Team
- Wheelchair ramp crew (2 teams)
- Paint (5 to 6 people)
- House repairs
- House clean up crew
- Prayer / Spiritual Team
Here is the Camp information:
- Where: Juan Seguin Elementary (605 Maple Street)
- When: June 27 – 30 (only 4 nights)
- Time: 5:30 to 8:30PM
- Cost: “your time”
Note: We will be having a training on Sunday, June 26th | 1:15 PM | Big Tent
Thank you and God bless!
Literacy Area Expanding!
It’s exciting to watch adults eager to learn how to read and speak English! In partnership with the Fort Bend Literacy Council, The Friends of North Richmond ESL classes have begun and continue to grow with new students. Currently, Level 1, 2 and 3 are being taught on Monday and Wednesday evenings. We also have 1 GED preparation class being taught during that time. Plans to start two more daytime classes in the new “Mamie George Community Center” in November. Volunteers are needed to meet the needs in the community. No experience is necessary. Training is provided by the Fort Bend Literacy Council. The next training is scheduled for November 8, 10 & 13. For more information Literacy Council of Fort Bend or Becky Watts
Supporting Friends of NR
We have received a lot of questions this past month about how to give a financially to the Friends of North Richmond Initiative. It’s now never been easier. All you have to do is click on the Donate button located to the right, or on the GIVE tab at the top of this page.
Clicking on the Donate button will take you to a safe and secure Paypal account. It simple, safe and easy. You can be certain that your gift goes directly toward helping those who live in North Richmond and nothing else. We have little to no overhead and only one paid staff member, so this allows us to make the very most of your gift and make a difference in someone else’s life very quickly!
Thank you in advance for your generous donation.
Mission Week
Mon. July 12 – Fri. July 16 Evenings 5-9 pm
Mission Week is only 9 days away and 145 people have signed up for this mission week experience. If you signed up, you won’t want to miss Orientation, Sunday, July 11 at 6:15 PM in the Lakeside Building so you can find out all the details of serving in North Richmond during this week.
If you did not sign up, you can still be a part of this mission experience by donating any of the following: 10-12lb brisket, 2 cases of water or gift cards to Wal-Mart, McCoy’s or Lowe’s. We will take donations on Sunday, July 11.
Thanks so much for supporting the Friends of North Richmond. For additional information, contact Becky Watts at Beckyw@riverpointe.org.
Mission Week Experience
FRIENDS OF NORTH RICHMOND – JULY 12-16 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Have you wanted to go on a mission trip but either couldn’t get off of work or have the money to travel to another country? Here is a great opportunity to go on a mission trip in our own backyard! This outreach to our neighbors will include prayer walking, construction, painting, food drive, kids kamp and much more. Families can participate together in most of the areas. For more information contact Becky Watts at missions@riverpointe.org or Sign Me Up!
Festival = Huge Success!
The North Richmond Community Festival truly was a celebration of the spirit of community. We had great food that was cooked by the community! F0r entertainment we had games by the Richmond YMCA, bounce houses, the Chic Filet cow, a talent show by the children from Pink and Sequin . The pink Elementary choir, and an amazing dance crew!
Pablo Monroy and his team did a great job organizing this event, and God provided good weather! Each of the 5 initiatives were represented with the leaders and/or partnership volunteers; such as; the prayer team offered prayers and/or free hugs; Benevolence booth was hosted by Helping Hands who let families know they are there for them; the Literacy booth was shared with the Literacy Council of Fort Bend who was assessing some needs in this area; and the Construction booth was shared with the Fort Bend CORPS who accepted applications for home repair. Our construction team was also out in the community early that morning, meeting families door to door. It really was an exciting day to be out and a part of this community!
Besides just having fun, we wanted the event’s purpose to be about us listening to the community about what they believed their community assets were and their biggest needs through an assessment survey developed by Noel Rydecki. Noel’s volunteer team hosted a booth for folks to fill out this survey and have great conversations about this community. The data will help us to determine how we to best proceed in helping the families of North Richmond.
This was a great day to shine our light in this community and share God’s love. Thanks to all who had a part!
Community Festival
Plan now to help us with this community festival. This is going to be an exciting collaboration of many different community organizations coming together to bring out the neighbors for some food, some fun and some access to helpful resources. We need all kinds of volunteers for this event from set up folks, to bi-lingual greeters, to assessment team participants. It’s all right here at this link. Just click on it, fill out your personal info and then you will see a list of each role and time slot that needs to be filled. Thanks in advance for your help!
One-Time Volunteer Need
One of the behind the scenes teams that have been working diligently and volunteering over 25 hours so far is our Community Needs & Assets Assessment team. The Community Needs Assessment (CNA) team was created to reach out to North Richmond to acquire an accurate, thorough understanding of the direct needs of the community. Once the data is received, it will be compiled and analyzed in comparison to the five core areas we as church have identified as areas of need.
What is a community needs assessment? A community needs assessment is a process for determining and addressing needs, or “gaps” between current conditions and desired conditions, often used for improvement projects in education/training, organizations, or communities. It involves identifying material problems/deficits/weaknesses and advantages/opportunities/strengths, and evaluating possible solutions that take those qualities into consideration.
The CNA Team is currently interviewing and surveying the key stakeholders of the community and we will be conducting similar Q & A sessions at the North Richmond Community Festival on February 20th. Join our team to find out how you can help today! To join this team or to just help out with the festival February 20th sign up HERE.
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Literacy Council of Fort Bend