Kingswood After School Ministry by Mary

Kingswood After School Ministry by Mary - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

In the town of New Bern there are eight public elementary schools, all of which fall under the Title 1 Act. This means that the majority of the enrolled students come from low-income families. Although this does not always reflect on the kids' academic performances, my church takes in many of these at-risk students from two of the local elementary schools every Monday through Thursday. This program is known as the Kingswood After School Ministry, and it has been changing the lives of both tutors, students, and the students' families for over eighteen years.
Church member volunteers sign up and, for an hour each day, help tutor the students with reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Every day Kingswood is in session, these kids are picked up from school in the Garber United Methodist Church van and brought to the church. Once there, the kids are given a healthy snack, playtime outside, a short devotion, and then tutoring aid.
The Kingswood program does not just include homework, although that is a big part of it. The Kingswood children participate in Garber's Wednesday night activities at the church, sing in Garber's children’s choir, share an annual luncheon with Garber's Senior Adults, celebrate birthdays and holidays, and bake pies each year to sponsor a child in Haiti. Together, we also make a huge effort to celebrate the kids' academic achievements. Not only are these kids learning to excel in the classroom, but they are also building and strengthening relationships with the church and their volunteers.
I have been a Kingswood volunteer for five years now and love it more and more every day. This program has taught me patience and has helped my respect grow for my own teachers and tutors. At the end of each school year, we throw a huge graduation ceremony for the rising sixth graders. This is definitely my favorite part of the entire ministry because not only are the kids celebrated and acknowledged, but their families are invited to see their student's many accomplishments as well. This reveals hidden potentials, and strengthens those that are already beginning to peak.
Through the Kingswood Ministry, I have been inspired to make a better effort in reaching out to others around me. I have learned to be slower to judge, and to seek out certain abilities that would otherwise be overlooked in at-risk children. I plan to continue tutoring in college, and to share the message that this ministry brings with as many people as I can.