Kids Hope USA director Rhonda Haley, shared with us her experience with starting a Kids Hope USA Next program: “When I heard Kids Hope was starting Kids Hope USA Next, I knew we needed to at least try. When many of our students graduated to middle school, I felt like they were being abandoned. Middle …
Miss D is in the 2nd year of mentoring her student, Peyton who is now in the 3rd grade. After a recent hour spent with Peyton in which the two of them made a craft from seashells that Miss D brought back from a recent trip to the beach, Peyton said, “I feel like my …
Rodrigo was not very excited about Christmas Break last year. His mentor, Karen assured him that she would be back after the break. They went to the Christmas celebration at school, but Rodrigo was still sad. After break, as Karen walked down the hall, Rodrigo saw her, ran to her, and grabbed her by the collar of …
To all of the wonderful mentors out there, be encouraged. In kid-language, you ARE making an impact and they appreciate all you do! My Mentor is GREAT because… 1. We play all day and she teach me to do the monkey bars. 2. We read together. 3. He is really funny. 4. He is good …
“I just left from visiting Grace, my 2nd grade Kids Hope student. She said, “hey do you have anymore nice people in your church? I have a friend who just moved in next to me and she could use a nice friend like you at school!” That’s new… kids referring kids!” This story was submitted …
“Our pastor had declared a “Summer of Service” and we were all asked to find ways to serve others in our community, showing God’s love through our actions.We took on one project for the whole congregation to do together, along with our individual ideas. We had asked our Kids Hope partner school if they needed us …
A mentor wrote a thank you card to her mentee’s teacher. She was thanking her for all the support she provided throughout the school year and wished her a good summer. After the teacher read the card she had tears in her eyes, came over to the mentor and hugged her saying, “I should be …
“Wow, 20 years in God’s service means stability, love, hope, and commitment! Any organization that can maintain and show such drastic improvement and increases in their volunteer base is doing something powerful and is making an impact. It seems that a commitment to volunteer is becoming more and more obsolete even though our churches and …
Attendance, behavior and course performance are three key areas that lead to graduation dropouts. The John Hopkins research (highlighted in the FRONTLINE Report: Middle School Moment) that pinpoints these key areas that lead to graduation dropouts was very motivating for me, both as a former public school teacher and as a KIDS HOPE USA Director. I …
Prayer Partners are great because… 1) They act as a confidante for the mentor. Someone who can be trusted to keep confidential information confidential, but with whom the mentor can share their thoughts. 2) They are intentional. Prayer partners are specific as they pray for their mentoring match. 3) They encourage mentors to be faithful. …
