love your neighbors.

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Looking for a way to get involved in thlives of kids? My former roomie has been living and working in Philadelphia, PA. Here's what she says:

A wild daisy emerges from the earth, peeks at the sun through much trash and contorts itself around broken glass and concrete. In its becoming, the daisy stands with confidence and is simply what it’s meant to be. Like this small daisy, there are children in my neighborhood doing their best to emerge, to seek goodness and to grow successfully.

My housemates and I are doing what we can to love the children in our neighborhood and build relationships with their parents. In mid-June 2009, we started a Kids Club. We meet on Monday's from 6-8pm. We have singing, a Bible teaching, crafts, games and a snack. There are about 7-14 children on average who attend.

The neighborhood I live in is pretty rough. There are drug dealers everywhere, prostitutes and homeless folks around most corners, and young children with absent parents. I have built relationships with many people over the past year and am looking forward to continuing my life here.

On the 4th of July, we took 40 neighborhood children to the zoo--ranging from the ages of 4-17. It was chaotically fun. The trip was a wonderful opportunity for the kids to leave the block and do something fun and educational. This trip was funded by a young adults group from a church in central Pennsylvania that was visiting Philadelphia for a short-term service trip. However, we exceeded the limit of for the number of children who could be payed for. It was a huge blessing to split the cost of the zoo trip with them! There is no way the three of us can fund everything we want to do with these amazing children.

This being said, I would like to extend the invitation for you to be a part of Kids Club! Currently, we are planning a pizza party for the beginning of September for children who have read 5 books during July and August. Other activities being planned are a trip to a museum, girls' night sleep over, and much more.

If you would like to sponsor a child for any of these events that would be delightful. I would love to personally talk with you about one or more of the children from my block that you may sponsor!

-Jessica

If you want to help out by sponsoring a child or if you have questions, you can reach Jessica by clicking here.

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