The dilemma is heart-breaking. Should parents quit their day jobs to stay home with their children on remote learning, or risk leaving their children at home, unsupervised, so they can put food on their tables?
Recognizing that at-risk families face the reality of falling deeper into poverty if parents are forced to stay home from work, Jericho Partnership sprang into action.
With the help of volunteers and staff serving as classroom monitors, Jericho began in late September hosting 20+ kindergarten-5th grade students from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Mondays through Thursdays, so their parents can keep their jobs and continue to provide for their families. It plans to expand the program.
More students are on a waiting list, and Jericho is recruiting more volunteers so that it can open up additional classrooms.
“We’re being guided by two things,” said Carrie L. Amos, Jericho’s President, “First, ensuring our students, volunteers, and staff are in a COVID-safe environment, adhering to all appropriate social-distancing and safety protocols, and second, ensuring that our families don’t have to worry about falling further into poverty. We also want to show our kiddos that education is important to them and that THEY are important to us. So we lead with compassion, and we trust God to provide the volunteers and finances we need to keep our services and programs moving forward.”
Jericho will continue to provide this service to parents and students, expanding to five days per week, and longer hours each day, even when Danbury moves into a hybrid learning model, Amos said. This is in addition to its regular ongoing mentoring and tutoring programs, which is currently serving about 150 students.
Jericho’s commitment to youth is now expanding to include academic support and tutoring based on each student’s individual need. It’s part of “Jericho 360,” a new model of ministry to at-risk youth that employs a 360-degree “whole student” approach to individualized compassionate care, addressing each students’ academic, physical, social & emotional, life readiness, and spiritual needs.
“This crisis has created opportunity. We're in a new world of learning so we're going to seize this opportunity and provide some really creative ways for students to learn and grow,” Amos said. “It's time to move away from the 'old way' of tutoring kids, and into new and exciting ways to have them really engage with the world around them. We believe it will benefit them in the classroom and beyond.”
To volunteer at Jericho, click HERE
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