Mission

Keep Giving the Gift of Reading

This past year, Village Church has given a lift to literacy in our community. We lifted up literacy with our dollars, sponsoring the Swope Corridor Renaissance after-school program for a full year with the help of the Village Church Endowment Trust. We lifted up literacy by challenging you the congregation to produce 100 new reading mentors for either the Swope Corridor program or for the Front Porch Alliance PAL program at Franklin Elementary or the Operation Breakthrough reading program held right here at Village Church in the Fall and Spring. You stepped up and gave us 125 mentors.

As the school year resumes, let’s continue to lift up literacy for these children. If you volunteered to be a reading mentor last year, we hope you’ll come back. If you haven’t volunteered yet, but would like to help some children learn this most essential skill, here’s how you can get involved. Below you’ll find descriptions of each of our three programs and how you can get involved.

Swope Corridor Renaissance After-School Program

This program asks you to give one hour, one day a week. From 4:15 until 5:15 p.m., mentors work with children in first through third grade, giving them some extra practice for reading. This program welcomes volunteers from 13 up and is a perfect opportunity for service after school or work. Contact Colleen McEvoy Schorgl, 913.339.8332 or mcevoy.colleen@gmail.com, to volunteer.

Front Porch Alliance PAL Program

This year marks a lot of change for the Kansas City school district. Franklin Elementary school has been closed, and those children will now be attending Faxon Elementary.  PAL volunteers are assigned to a specific child and go into the school one day a week for some one-on-one reading time. PAL volunteers go to the school one hour per week to help two children with their math and reading skills — and to be one more caring adult in those children’s lives. This program is great for those who truly want to make a connection with some very special kids — some PAL volunteers have been with the same child for more than five years. Contact Charlotte Davison, 913.648.6045 or charlottesdavison@gmail.com for more information. 

Operation Breakthrough Reading Program

This program targets younger children who are not reading just yet, but who need adults to expose them to books and to the joys of reading. This program meets every Wednesday morning from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. for seven weeks in the fall and again in the spring. Click here to learn more.