One of St. John’s longtime ministry partners is Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul. We work with them for our Faith in Action ministries Project Home, which shelters and supports families experiencing homelessness, and School Tools, a school supply drive for low-income families. Please check out this report they sent about everything they did over the summer!
by Interfaith Action
Project Home
There’s never a dull moment at Project Home and this summer was no exception! From art parades to field trips, the kiddos and their families at Project Home kept very busy with lots of fun and engaging activities including…
Our annual Juneteenth cookout, complete with a bouncy house, a visit from an ice cream truck, face painting, bingo, and yard games!
A weekday art workshop that concluded with a parade filled with projects made during the week AND music from Brass Solidarity
Fields trips to the zoo, the Science Museum, the Splash Pad, and more.
All together, we had 5 on-site activities and 10 field trips with 81 kids joining us!
We are so grateful for our amazing staff, volunteers, and partners for making the last three months jam packed with fun. A special “thank you” goes out to Trinity Moore, our Summer Activities and Events Coordinator, for making this summer truly memorable! Reflecting on her time with us, Trinity shared a story from one of these field trips saying:
“While planning summer activities, my goal was to not only offer a fun summer for kids but also for their full family units. To get this, I planned one family-oriented event a week. A standout excursion was a Splash Pad and Cookout trip to Harmon Park in West Saint Paul. We brought together 7 families, equaling 17 participants. During this outing, one family stood out to me; while some parents watched their kids play in the water from the sides, this parent didn’t leave the water area or their kids’ side once.
I think watching parent-and-kid connection is always meaningful, but what made this story a summer highlight was what the parent told me on the way back to Project Home. They told me they were grateful for the opportunity to be not only a parent but a friend to their kid. They went on to tell me that you love your kids unconditionally, but having time to learn your kids’ personalities is what allows you to build connections with them. I took this to heart, and when reflecting on the summer as a whole, I believe that conversation is as close to a program thesis statement as I can get. I’m so touched that I was allowed to orchestrate and encourage families to value friendship in parenting.”
School Tools
We are so grateful for everyone who participated in this year’s School Tools drive and distribution!
Each year the faith communities of Saint Paul step up to make sure students across the East Metro have what they need for success in school. This year, we had 25 faith communities, plus individuals and businesses, step up to offer thousands of dollars-worth of supplies to families served by Project Home, the Department of Indian Work, Career Pathways, Project Reach, Emma Norton Services, and Corner House.
Deepest gratitude to Saint Paul’s UCC for hosting the event again this year and helping make the magic happen, and thank you to all of our awesome partners for their help during the event!
