14 ways you can help children & youth cross boundaries

In your local church

New school threads by Ann Graham Price Recently, Lynell Bergen, who has served through Mennonite Mission Network in various ministries in South Africa with her husband, Brian Dyck, since 1999, bought dozens of school uniforms and drove three hours up into the mountains to deliver them to one the of the local AIDS agencies. “It was a lot of fun to have 20 kids in one small room, going through shirts, shoes, socks, skirts, trousers and jerseys (sweaters) to find all the right sizes,” she said. “I had made guesses about the sizes needed, and there were a lot more small boys than I had expected. There were some little boys in tears when there wasn’t a pair of pants or shirt for them. But we made sure they had them the next day.” — Photo courtesy of Lynell Bergen and Brian Dyck

1. Become a prayer partner or mentor for a young person.
2. Teach a youth Sunday-school class.
3. Encourage high-school youth to consider a year of service, in RAD (Reaching and Discipling), DEO (Discipleship, Encounter, Outreach), Mennonite Voluntary Service or Service Adventure (www.Service.MennoniteMission.net).
4. Organize a week-long or weekend program for high-school youth in the city through DOOR (www.Service.MennoniteMission.net/DOOR).
5. Use the new Vacation Bible School materials, Jesus Friends, from Mennonite Publishing Network. These stories of Jesus teach children how to reach out “across the street and around the world” (www.mph.org/vbs).

In your community

1. Become a Court Appointed Special Advocate for a child who’s suffered from abuse or neglect. In this position you would review a case and recommend to the court what you believe is best for the child. No legal background is required (www.nationalcasa.org).
2. Volunteer to be a Big Brother or Big Sister (www.bbbsa.org).
3. Volunteer to rock babies in the neonatal care unit at your local hospital.

In your local school

1. Tutor children who need individual attention with schoolwork.
2. Volunteer to be a mentor to the child of someone in prison through Angel Tree (www.angeltree.org).
3. Read aloud to kids in schools and community centers through Rolling Readers USA (www.rollingreaders.org).

In your family

1. After shopping, check food or clothing labels to see where items were made or raised. Identify those places on a map.
2. Invite a single mom and her kids to join you for lunch.
3. Give non-competitive games as gifts.

Highlights

Highlights

Return to Beyond Ourselves—Fall 2005