Kids Hope USA
One Child. One Hour. One School. One Church
Kids Hope USA is a mentoring program with over 1200 school partnerships nationwide. The Silver Spring CRC joined Kids Hope USA in the fall of 2009 and has been partnering with Arcola Elementary School since then. Kids Hope USA follows a model that has been successful since 1995 which includes training mentors, matching one student with one mentor for the duration of their time in elementary school, and hosting events outside of school for the kids. Each week dedicated mentors meet for one hour with their child working on relationship building, social and emotional issues, as well as reading time, free play, and academics. These relationships are built slowly over time and deepen year after year. We've had some students go from K-5th with the same mentor! Arcola Elementary School is only a few blocks from our church and that closeness gives us the opportunity to get more involved in other ways at the school as well as inviting kids to our church for special events and parties.