Notable Numbers:
- 90 students in our K-12 programs
- 93% of 12th graders involved 4 years or more graduated from high school!
- 180 volunteer tutors, camp/VBS counselors, event helpers, and clerical assistants
- 2 FIDA participants became home owners for the first time!
- 21 FIDA participants completed the Financial literacy class; 14 did mentoring
- 3 FIDA/Cville Works Initiative participants obtained Certified Nursing Assistant jobs!
- 2017 Summer programs: 8 boys in 5/8 Day Program; 3 girls to CitiKidz Camp, 6 boys to Camp Wabanna; 26 Bible Campers in C’ville; 20 children at VBS
- LOTS of faithful supporters from Abundant Life community to make these numbers a reality!!
Notable People:
- Tutor and STRIVE mentor, Jonathan Showalter, was honored as one of two 2017 Outstanding Mentors by the
Virginia Mentoring Partnership! - Dylan Rosenthal moved to Norfolk but stays involved as our Digital Marketing Manager and STRIVE Assistant Coordinator
- Richard Feero became Director of Boys Programming and moved to his new office at 782 Prospect. Richard hired two young men from STRIVE as “leaders in training“
- Angel Feero brought her experience as an elementary school teacher to her new role as Johnson Tutoring
Program Coordinator - The Philadelphia Eagles signed former participant Rashard Davis to its practice squad!
- The Board of Directors welcomed four new members: long-time neighborhood resident Carmelita Wood, Matthew Gillikin, Clay Daniels, and Jim Bleakley
- Jon and Megan Copper of Flourish Digital continued their behind-the-scenes work of giving us a “fresh face”
- DJ Carter became our Community Engagement Coordinator, focusing on family visiting and neighbors helping
neighbors
Notable Events:
- 782 Prospect received an interior makeover thanks to friends from Trinity Presbyterian Church and neighborhood volunteers
- Thanks to the makeover, the Kindergarten program now meets in a home-like setting
- The third Journey of Awesomeness Bike Ride, held in June, raised even more funds!
- Habitat for Humanity broke ground for the long-awaited Harmony Ridge development on the edge of our neighborhood
- A local foundation awarded funds for buying a mini bus AND set up a challenge match for a second vehicle – if we raise $18,750 by late February!
- Building Goodness Foundation awarded a grant for further renovations at 782!
Notable Help Still Needed – Notable Opportunity for You to Join Us in this Work:
- Prayers for wisdom and direction for the Board & Search Committee as we hire a new Executive Director
this spring - Storage space and moving helpers for downsizing our office space at Christian Aid
- Prayers for wisdom as we plan for Fellows/Internship Program for 2018-2019
- Prayers for wisdom as we continue to determine how to increase the space at 782
- Funding for additional positions to support the needs in the tutoring and mentoring programs: assistants to the
programs at Johnson, Walker, and kindergarten class; a dedicated coordinator to cover tutoring at both Walker
and Buford Middle Schools
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On August 3rd, 2023, Abundant Life Ministries was awarded a Grant Recipient Check from The Dominion Energy Foundation. “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2 Abundant Life was joined by community members, city officials, and representatives from Dominion Energy for such a special […]
K-4th grade Summer Programming consisted of lots of fun, laughter, and memories.
This was Calvin Kellum’s first time coordinating the Abundant Life VBS program. During programming this summer, he was able to connect with the kids he knew already from John Tutoring and new kids that joined during the summer.
Each week they would travel to a different church around Charlottesville to learn about the love of God. Before leaving for the church, Calvin would ask the children if any of them would like to pray for the upcoming day they were about to experience. At first the children were very hesitant to pray in front of all of their peers, but there was always one student whose hand would jump up immediately his name was KJ. KJ loved to pray for safe travels, for fun, and for family and friends. He was what the group needed to give all the students confidence to participate and by the end of the, summer we had every single student raising their hand to pray each and every day.
Following the daily VBS sessions, the group ate a lunch together and then moved on to afternoon activities. They worked on reading and writing at the Abundant Life house with Calvin and Ms. Faith. They would read 2 books each day and wrote 3 sentences about a prompt that was given to them. After their work was done they would have lots of fun playing outside as well as painting, drawing, and making bracelets.
This summer was filled with excitement and great times learning about the Lord. We learned how to pray and why we pray, Calvin and the children can not wait for K-4 VBS 2024.