The New England Congregational Church’s mentoring program, book collections and holiday gift-giving for Greenman Elementary School in Aurora show no signs of stopping any time soon.
“The New England Congregational Church values involvement in the community very deeply,” church volunteer Val Flechtner told The Beacon-News.
The West Aurora School Board recently recognized the partnership between the church and Greenman Elementary.
Flechtner said the church reached out to its neighborhood school four years ago with the interest of providing mentors for at-risk children.
She said the church received a warm welcome from Principal Cliff Englishharden and since then the partnership has grown.
Englishharden told the School Board that Greenman is “grateful for the support” from the church.
Flechtner said New England Congregational Church joined the Kids Hope USA mentoring program and now has approximately nine mentors who meet one-on-one with students for about an hour a week during the school year to talk, review math problems, read or work on art projects.
“Although some of the things we do involve academic work, most importantly we are there to build a friendship with the children,” she said.
School officials said Greenman has a high concentration of students whose families have come to Aurora through the World Relief group.
Flechtner said the mentoring program has been successful in large part due to the welcoming reception by Englishharden and school social workers.
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“As we got to know Greenman, we began to offer other programs,” she said.
Aside from the mentoring program, the church provides 40 pairs of shoes and clothing for times if ever there is an urgent need for a Greenman student or a student at District 129’s other elementary schools.
The church organizes a Christmas Angels program to provide youngsters with gift-wrapped toys and clothing over the holidays. At the close of the school year, the church provides each child with a book to read over the summer break. This year, New England Congregational Church donated 241 books for the project.
The church also provides grants of $50 to $300 for various classroom projects to teachers that apply.
Flechtner said in the past four years 12 teachers have been awarded grants for classroom-related projects or field trips.
The School Board awarded the church a certificate for being a committed supporter and partner with Greenman. Flechtner received her own certificate for being a supporter of the neighborhood school as well.
“It’s a great match for our church,” she said.