April Outreach Update

Outreach Update
March 29, 2021

Agency Spotlight
PreSchool Partners, founded in 1995 by St. Luke’s members, Jeannette Hancock and Bill Black, provides highly structured learning for underserved two, three and four-year-old students to prepare them for a successful kindergarten experience. The mission of PreSchool Partners (PSP) is also to equip whole families of preschool children with the skills necessary to achieve school readiness. Children are offered quality instruction in literacy, social and behavioral skills, and also experience sports, music, and arts activities. Enrolled students receive 1,000 hours of instruction during the school year. A robust Parents Program includes training in parenting and life skills including child development, stress management, nutrition and more. A new Kindergarten Boot Camp has been implemented to further support the success of the mission.

Preschool Partners has been able to offer in-person learning during 2020-2021. As covid restrictions continue to ease up, normal volunteer opportunities like assisting teachers, reading in the classroom, party hosting and more will resume. PSP graduates enjoy a greater high school graduation rate than many of their peers. In 2016 one PreSchool Partners grad received the Claypool Scholarship to use toward college tuition! Click here for more information

Outreach Opportunities:

Greater Birmingham Ministries Food Distribution: Volunteers needed to help load food bags into cars as folks drive through. Each family receives 2 bags of groceries plus meat. They usually finish before 8:30a.m. The next date is April 16. Sign up here.

Firehouse Lunches. Thank you for continuing to help provide sack lunches for Firehouse Shelter to give to the homeless! Each slot is for 25 lunches. You make the lunches and drop off at 626 2nd Avenue North (the New Firehouse location) at 10:45am!  Sign up here. We will be stopping the lunches after April 29. Thanks so much for staying so faithful to this endeavor. Let’s finish strong!!

St. Andy’s Pantry is a ministry of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, feeding around 300 people at each food distribution. Volunteers are needed for a variety of tasks, including checking in guests, directing them through the line, handing out bags, and helping guests get their bags to the car. There is a need for people of all ages and abilities. Please consider being a part of this ministry! Sign up here.

COVID VACCINE UDATE:
Over an 8 day period, St. Luke’s vaccination teams gave second doses to 108 clients at The Episcopal Place, 101 first doses to folks as they received bags of food at Greater Birmingham Ministry and, working with the amazing team at New Rising Star, helped vaccinate 261 more people! We will be giving second doses at GBM on April 16th, and second doses at New Rising Star on April 17th. We feel so honored to be able to give something lifesaving! ALL of the recipients are so grateful and relieved. We are waiting to see the full effect of the National Guard working in the black belt- then we will know if our team(s) will be needed to head there as well. Let me know if you want to be a part of this in a clinical or nonclinical way – just send me an email. A description of the wonders of this event can be found here.

Kim Kimberlin Outreach Volunteer Service Coordinator 205-529-9510 kkimberlin67@gmail.com