Helping Youth and Parents Excel, HYPE, provides learning and development opportunities for an elite group of under-served Bernard Terrace students who are striving for excellence.
Following research done in 2013, First United Methodist Church realized the need for a community outreach program that supports local children who strive to achieve excellence in school, but who may not have the support to do so. HYPE was created to fill this gap and to provide much-needed support to students right here in our own community.
The Director of HYPE partners with Bernard Terrace Elementary School to identify students who would be a good fit for the program and enroll the students for HYPE. We also have a liaison who helps with the partnership and communication between HYPE, school, and families.
You don’t have to be a child expert to be a volunteer. A willing heart, a little patience, and your passion to help a child be the best they can be is all it takes! Your unique talents and interests will bring excitement and diversity to the students’ experience.
Plus, many of our volunteers say that their time volunteering with HYPE has made a significant impact in their own lives as it has in the lives of the children they serve. If you have two hours one afternoon a week, you can make a difference in the life of a child right here in your own community. To inquire about volunteering please contact Michelle Augustine, HYPE Director, at maugustine@firstmethodist.org 383-4777, ext. 246.
An afternoon at HYPE begins when the students are dropped off at FUMC by a school bus. The volunteers greet the students and escort them by age group to the HYPE space. Once in their classrooms the students complete writing exercises, providing them with an opportunity to increase their skills and self-expression. After the students complete their journaling they begin their homework. Volunteers spend the next 50 minutes helping students with homework and tutoring in literacy or math. When homework is complete, the students engage in math games, book clubs and fun cultural enrichment activities. The students are then picked up by a school bus and taken home.
HYPE is creating brighter futures for children in our community. We need your help to sustain our impact. We invite you to get involved with this life-changing ministry by supporting HYPE as a donor through financial giving or in-kind donations. To discuss the needs of the ministry and talk about your options for getting involved as a donor please contact Michelle Augustine, HYPE Director, at maugustine@firstmethodist.org or 383-4777, ext. 246.