Long Creek project
Ta-DAH!!! Our 2012 Outreach Project is ~ DRUM ROLL PLEASE… Long Creek Youth Development Center The Outreach Committee is excited to announce we have adopted the Long ŽŶ ƌŵ ĂƟŽŶĂůD ĞĞƟŶŐ Creek Youth Development Center as our Ʃ ĞŶĚĂďƌŝĞĨ/ŶĨŽ ĂŌĞƌϭϬĂŵ ƐĞƌǀ ŝĐĞ project this year. ^Ƶ ŶĚ ĂLJ͕&ĞďϭϮƚŚ We hope S. Mary’s can find numerous ways to help the young people who are incarcerated at the facility. Long Creek is the state’s major facility for youth who have either been convicted of a crime or are awaiting trial. It houses both young men and women who are arrested before they turn 18. For several years the Outreach Committee has provided birthday cakes every month so that the kids can enjoy a birthday celebration. (We could use some additional volunteers to bring cakes.) Additionally, several members of our Parish have been involved in work there: David Snow and David Robinson serve as board members of the Friends of Long Creek, and Jean Wandel as a volunteer. Wanting to consider expanding our work with Long Creek, we met with two of the volunteer coordinators last fall, and a number of us went on a tour of Long Creek. There are many ways we could volunteer to help the kids at Long Creek ~ either by individual commitments of mentoring or tutoring or by a larger group project, such as organizing a game or pizza party. There are kids there who would simply like to meet with one of us to discuss spirituality or to have help with homework. Tutors are needed. There is a waiting list for kids who wish to spend an hour a week with an adult; this is a desperate need and perhaps you might feel called to serve in this way. Long Creek is also seeking organizations to undertake the sponsorship of a unit, in which there would be a continuing relationship that might include organizing pizza parties and events, as well as providing money for necessary items that are not supplied by the state (hygiene products, sports equipment, art supplies, slippers, etc.) Last year, the outreach committee made a donation to the Friends of Long Creek to allow the coordinators to help fill these needs. The volunteer coordinators at Long Creek are open to various kinds of projects, but we need to be sure if we can follow through with any commitment we make. The Outreach Committee hopes that parishioners will be interested in joining this work. To sponsor a unit, which would go on for a year, we would need ten people to be committed to that project, so that 4 or 6 people could be involved in a monthly event, such as a game night. We can arrange another hour-long tour of the facility if you think you might be called to participate in this ministry. While it seems a giant step in some ways, once one is inside the center, the opportunities to make a difference in a young person’s life loom large. The kids we met were wonderful and so appreciative of our visit. Consider the possibilities for you to become involved. Pray about it... and contact Marian McCue at [email protected], Betsy Elliman at [email protected], or Becky Pride at [email protected] if you are interested. We will hold an hour-long information meeting on February 12th right after church and coffee hour.
