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Wichita program reaches out to city kids

By Melodie Woerman

Editor, The Harvest

It started with a desire to make a difference. St. James’, Wichita, includes that as part of its mission statement (Ancient Worship, Open Minds, Come Inside, Make a Difference). But how, they wondered, could they reach out into their community and have an impact?

They started by praying. The parish’s rector, the Rev. Kate Moorehead, said the outreach committee started with a simple question — “Where did God need us?”

The answer led them to children at Harry Street Elementary School, where most of the students live in working families with financial struggles. Many were unsupervised until parents came home because after-school care was either too expensive or unavailable.

But that school had students with musical talent, and then it clicked for St. James’ — they would use the resources of their outstanding music program to provide an after school program for some of these students. And they’d do it for free.

The St. James’ after school program was launched on Sept. 6, 2005 and now includes 14 elementary-aged students from the Harry Street school.

A van purchased by the program and driven by AmeriCorps volunteers picks the students up after school and drives them the six miles to the St. James’ Guild Hall, home of the program. There they have what program organizers call a “hearty, healthy snack,” enough to satisfy hungry youngsters until dinner time at home.

Four days a week they participate in a special program of vocal music, and one day they concentrate on art projects. Parish volunteers help them with homework as time permits, and they, along with AmeriCorps staff, provide positive adult interaction to the students.

Youngsters are selected for the program by school administrators, who are asked to consider three criteria:

• music giftedness or potential
• character that suggests motivation to learn and fully participate in the program
• family income that qualifies the students for the free lunch program

A growing program

The Rev. Kenny Miller, St. James’ assistant rector, serves as program director. He has been busy since arriving in the parish last summer following graduation from seminary, with duties ranging from creation of a board of directors and accompanying bylaws to hiring staff to provide the range of programs needed. He laughs when asked how many seminary classes prepared him for the challenge of managing a program such as this one.

Music instruction, the heart of the program, has been under the direction of David Cason, St. James’ organist and choirmaster. He puts the youngsters through their paces vocally, using folk and popular songs to teach them the technique of singing as a group. So far students have offered two concerts, one at Christmas for the Foster Grandparents of Wichita and another this spring for members of St. James’. A year-end program is planned for May 17.

Cason said the curriculum needed to expand to provide additional music education keyed to the skills of the students in the group. To accomplish this, the parish has hired an additional staff member to assist. Jeff Dary, a certified music teacher, will spend two-thirds of his time with students in the after school program and a third with the existing parish music program.

Miller, too, needed assistance running the program, and with the help of money from grants, the program has added a program coordinator, Twila Warren. She has experience running after school programs for the local YMCA, and she also will help raise additional money needed to fund the program.

Increasing financial support

Miller said the needs of the students in the program have convinced several foundations and agencies to assist them with needed funds. The St. James’ Foundation made a grant of $25,000 after a competitive process that considered programs inside the parish and in the wider community.

Compassion Kansas, an agency that assists faith-based and community-based organizations that serve those in need, surprised Miller when they responded to his grant request. He had asked for $525 to cover the cost of filing the paperwork to become a tax-exempt agency separate from the parish. They made him a counter-offer — would he take $9,000 instead?

“They really liked what we were trying to do with this program and wanted to provide more resources,” Miller said. He accepted their proposal.

Generous donations from parishioners so far have added another $23,000 toward the program, with much of the money raised earmarked for Warren’s salary as coordinator. Miller will retain the role of program director but will turn over more of the day-to-day operations to Warren, freeing him to assist with expansion of the program as well as his duties as assistant rector of the growing parish.

Parish members help in other ways, too, including providing many of the snack items served daily and volunteering to tutor students. Three AmeriCorps volunteers have played a key role in the program, according to Miller. Not only do they drive the van but also help with preparing snacks and maintaining records of food donations and attendance. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” Miller said.

Parents, too, appreciate what the program has offered their children. Raquel Nowell’s daughter, Chloe, is a participant, and Nowell says her child especially enjoys learning to sing with a group. “I like the program because it gives quality time to a skill she has potential in, to develop her gift further. It is a safe place to be after school and time not in front of a television.”

Moorehead, the parish’s rector, said the program offers children something truly important, something that will fulfill the parish’s desire to make a difference. “We realized that we had the potential to teach children to read music. We could give them a skill, something to lift them up and help them feel confident. We hope to give them a skill that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.