Church Members Make A Difference In Students' Lives

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A partnership between Grace Community Church and the Howard County Public School System took root around 20 years ago, but has since grown exponentially.

A few church members worked at Swansfield Elementary School and realized there were ways the congregation could help out. As the years passed by, church members continued to grow in their volunteerism and eventually donated time and energy to other schools in the district.

Within the past 10 years, the church's approach toward volunteering within the district and making an impact has evolved.

“Our partnerships with schools are now very intentional. We are focused on building deep and impactful relationships with several specific schools where we see high levels of need," said Shaena Foot, who leads Grace’s community outreach program.

Laurel Woods Elementary Schools is one of the schools Grace Community Church spends considerable time volunteering at. In addition to providing gift cards to families in need around the holidays and supplying breakfast for staff prior to the start of school, the church works closely with LWES staff to provide weekly English classes to non-English speaking families in their community. LWES provides childcare through its community school funding and in turn, Grace provides trained staff and language instruction materials, the school district shared.

“Being able to offer English classes has been a huge asset to our community,” said LWES Community School Site Coordinator Alesia Richter. “We have seen a significant increase in family engagement in our schools, with more families participating in parent-teacher conferences and attending coffee and conversation events with our administrators”

Grace Community Church also has collaborated with LWES staff to offer a mentoring-tutoring program that provides math enrichment opportunities for select third-grade students. Grace volunteers serve as mentor-tutors, and the church supplies dinner for participating students and their families, according to the school district.

“As a designated community school, we rely heavily on community partners to help us meet our students’ and families’ needs, and to do so in a sustainable way. Grace Community Church is a perfect example of [how to be an effective] community school partner,” Richer said. “They have deeply invested their time, skills and resources in the work that we are doing together and, in the process, have helped us build sustainable programs that will serve our students and families today and for years to come.”

HCPSS’ Homewood Center also maintains a strong partnership with Grace Community Church. In addition to gift cards for families and staff breakfast, Grace members volunteer at the school in various capacities and play a critical role in organizing and operating the school’s Treasure Sale. The annual event allows students to spend credit they earned through their grades and attendance on donated items to gift their families and loved ones at the holidays, school officials noted.

“Grace Community Church makes so many important things possible at Homewood, from supporting our students and families to making our teachers and staff feel appreciated,” said Kelly Kessler, Homewood’s Community School Site coordinator. “Grace Community Church volunteers want to learn about Homewood and what its unique needs are—not just so they can fulfill those needs, but so they can be true partners in helping to come up with meaningful, sustainable solutions.”

Long Reach High School also has a longstanding partnership with Grace Community Church, a hallmark of which is their collaboration on a large-scale used clothing giveaway event. In addition to facilitating the collection of donated clothing, Grace volunteers work with LRHS students and staff the day to organize the donations and set them up at the school. On the day of the event, Grace volunteers escort event attendees through the clothing displays, helping them find the ideas they need. Volunteers also help break down the event and prepare the building for normal school operations, the school system stated.

“Having a partner who is willing to be there from start to finish, to meet a critical need at a critical time, it means everything,” said LRHS Assistant Principal Malcolm Anderson.

In addition to their work with LWES, Homewood and LRHS, Grace Community Church actively supports students and staff at Bollman Bridge, Ducketts Lane, Stevens Forest and Swansfield elementary schools as well as at Harper’s Choice, Murray Hill and Wilde Lake middle schools. Depending on the school community’s specific needs, Grace may provide backpacks and school supplies, holiday gift cards, household supplies for the school’s resource pantry, hygiene supplies for classrooms, staff meals, raffles and more.

Grace Community Church also engages regularly with students and staff from the Cedar Lane School and students enrolled in HCPSS’ Transitions program, enlisting their help in preparing materials that are distributed during Grace services.

“At Grace, building relationships with and supporting our community is paramount. We want to do our part to help people feel seen and loved,” Foot said.

Through its work in schools, Grace also seeks to empower and inspire the next generation, Foot said.

“Students carry heavy loads. Some face poverty and instability in their lives. Through our partnership with HCPSS schools, we hope to be able to alleviate some of those hardships and break some of those cycles. We try to remind students that there is hope,” she added.