It’s that time of year again! Almost time for school to start again – which also means we are out finding great deals on markers, crayons, scissors, playground balls and other supplies for the kids at Saturday Sports! Every year about this time we are shopping, because the deals are great!
This week I was at Walmart and a very nice young man helped me with my overflowing cart full of fun! Of course the question came, that I always expect. He asked, “Are you a teacher?” Then I go went on to explain:
“No, all this stuff is for Saturday Sports programs. I work with Every Neighborhood Partnership. We provide these supplies for churches who do programs on Saturday mornings with kids in more than 30 Fresno neighborhoods. It’s a great program and so simple! Volunteers from the churches open up a school playground for a couple hours on a Saturday morning and play with kids in the neighborhood, giving them a “green space” to play and something fun to do on the weekend. They might play soccer, throw a football, jump rope, play board games or do crafts. It’s pretty casual and unstructured which makes it easy for the churches. The kids just have fun and at the end of the morning they leave with a sack lunch, provided by Poverello House.”
Store employees typically respond with positive, semi-interested comments like, “Oh, that’s great.” However this young man’s response made me smile! (OK – I admit, it kind of made me cry a little.) He told me that people from churches had a very positive impact on his life while growing up. I thought he was going to tell me he went to Sunday School, or VBS or something, but he said, “You tell those people that they may never really know the impact they are having on those kids! Every weekend people from churches would hand out lunches when we lived near 99. My brother and I couldn’t wait to go there every weekend. I’ll never forget them!” This was an 18 year old boy who was telling me this story. He is now working and saving up to go to college. Needless to say I walked away feelling pretty blessed thinking about the time our partnership churches are spending with kids in Fresno neighborhoods and the impact they are making!
More than 3000 kids attended a Saturday Sports Program during the past school year, and they received MORE than a lunch! Volunteers played with them, talked to them, colored with them, AND gave them a sack lunch before they went home. What do you think those kids will say when they are 18?
Volunteers have an opportunity to make an impact this year on thousands of Fresno kids on Saturday mornings. Churches have an opportunity to reach out to them. There are places form more volunteers to serve at existing Saturday Sports Programs, and there are more neighborhoods with kids who would LOVE something to do on a Saturday morning! How many more lives can be reached this year?
The opportunities are there . . . and so are the kids!
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If you would like more information about Saturday Sports, or would like to donate craft supplies or sports equipment for these programs, we would love to talk to you. For a list of items we still need, please contact us, or check out the list on our website.
