Kids' Junction Provides Necessities

Each Tuesday, First United Methodist Church in Galax, Va., opens its financial office to help families who need assistance with utility bills, food vouchers and more. Children, along with their parents or grandparents, are invited upstairs to Kids’ Junction, where infants and children up to size eight get free clothing, shoes, coats, hygiene products, school supplies and backpacks. Families can also get diapers for infants

One July Tuesday, the church served 12 children from six families. “We ask the parents what they need,” says the ministry’s coordinator Linda Murphy.

All of the hygiene items and school supplies are new, says Sara Gearhart, the former ministry coordinator who helped organize Kids’ Junction in 2012. She has “purchased new clothes and shoes, but we take gently used items as well. These kids deserve the best. Why shouldn’t they get new clothing items as well?” Gearhart says.

The clothes and supplies are offered to anyone with a Galax address, Murphy says. While the program started with a “Change for Children” grant from the Holston Conference, donations taken during church services, as well as donated goods, keep the ministry going. Families can visit Kids’ Junction once every six months.

During the summer, the ministry collected nearly 20 backpacks filled with school supplies. For families struggling to pay their power bill, school supplies can be out of reach. These supply-filled backpacks run anywhere from $30 to $40, she says, “so it’s difficult for people in financial straits.”

The families are always appreciative, Murphy says. “The children were very excited about having the backpacks.”

— Carrie Madren

Read a longer version of this story online at
www.interpretermagazine.org. To learn more about the Kids’ Junction, contact First United Methodist Church, Galax, Va., 276-236-9937, fumcgalax@embarqmail.com, www.fumcgalax.com.

RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPING MINISTRIES WITH CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY

Your local school district and neighborhood schools

“Supporting Students and Schools”

Children’s Ministry, General Board of Discipleship

Melanie Gordon, director, ministry with children, General Board of Discipleship, 615-340-1762

UMC Ministry with Children Living in Poverty (includes more than webinar links)

UMC Ministry with Children

Children’s Fund for Christian Mission Resources (ways for children to be in mission with other children)

After School Resources

Children’s Defense Fund

National Center for Children in Poverty

Pan-Methodist Campaign for Children in Poverty

Hunger in America (same website has global hunger information)

“Do Something: 11 Facts about Education and Poverty in America”

“A Dozen Economic Facts about K-12 Education”

General Board of Church and Society

Joe Kim, director of children’s advocacy, General Board of Church and Society, 202-488-5600

General Board of Global Ministries (search “children”)

United Methodist Men Scouting programs (includes Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Camp Fire and 4-H)

Marc Stowe, scouting ministry assistant, United Methodist Men, 615-620-7262

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/povertystudy/?search=poverty%20mission%20study.html" data-mce-href="http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/povertystudy/?search=poverty%20mission study.html">“Poverty: Mission Study,” United Methodist Women

Children’s Campaign for Public Education, United Methodist Women, Julie Taylor, 202-488-5660

National ministries for women, children and youth, United Methodist Women, Andris Salter, 212-682-3843

Find more links to resources with the “Cereal Saturday” story at www.interpretermagazine.org.