AT-RISK CHILDREN & FAMILIES
SouthPark Church has formed strategic partnerships with two ministries around Charlotte to support
at-risk children & families in our community. We support students, families and teachers through our partnership with Pinewood Elementary and support immigrant children and families by partnering with Refugee Support Services. You can join us as we support children and families through the opportunities listed below!
Have a question? Connect with us at info@southparkchurch.com or 704.366.9166.
You can encourage students and teachers to make a lasting impact in
entire family units. Let’s stop children from spending the weekend hungry
and start equipping them to take the next step in their education.
The vision of Pinewood Elementary, a Title I school, is to create a positive, respectful, learning environment in which students, families, staff and communities collaborate in order to promote lifelong learners that set goals and strive to achieve them and focus on nurturing children’s spirits as they can learn and grow. SouthPark Church strives to support Pinewood students, families and teachers.
Our church supports Pinewood Elementary in the following ways:
Serve as a Reading or Math Buddy, Classroom Assistant, reshelve books, help with book fair, help in the school office or clothing closet, bless teachers with school supplies, gift cards, and snacks, and provide Christmas gifts for identified children in need.
Visit the Pinewood Elementary WebsiteEach week 10-20 backpacks are filled with food to provide two lunches, breakfast and snacks for children in need of food over the weekend. Volunteer to help pack weeklybackpacks once a month or make financialgifts to Pinewood Backpacks to help fill backpacks with food.
Connect with the Backpack TeamEach year, approximately 600 refugees arrive in Charlotte from over fifteen different countries including Bhutan, Burma, Ethiopia, Kuwait, and Vietnam. Most recently Charlotte has been welcoming individuals from such countries as Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Afghanistan. After they arrive, they are given assistance through the government for the first 90 days; but then they are on their own. That’s where Refugee Support Services (RSS) steps in and we have the opportunity to help them feel welcome.
The mission of Refugee Support Services is to facilitate programs and intercultural relationships that promote refugee self sufficiency and enrich our community. RSS helps newly arrived refugees make Charlotte their new home. RSS supports refugee families in their goal to achieve self-sufficiency through programs and education that empower them to thrive in the US, post resettlement from 3 months for as long as needed.
Refugee Support Services has many ways that SouthPark Church volunteers can help right here in Charlotte.
Every Wednesday and Thursday RSS operates the REFUGEE HELP CENTER from 9AM to 12PM at the Galilee Center. Refugees are invited to come in for help with any area they are struggling – deciphering medical bills, making phone calls, completing job applications, reapplying for food stamps, among other things. Volunteers lend advice and assistance to navigate our American systems as well as provide snacks, help in parking lot, be a play school volunteer, driver for refugee appointment or an English buddy.
Visit the Refugee Support Service’s WebsiteRSS operates a FREE fresh food and vegetable distribution on Wednesdays between 10AM and 12PM. Refugee families are able to supplement their families’ diet with fresh vegetables, fruits, breads, sometimes locally farmed tilapia fish. Various partners make these weekly donations possible and VOLUNTEERS do the physical labor each Wednesday to make this happen, rain or shine.
Visit the Refugee Support Service’s WebsiteMondays and Tuesdays from 9AM to 1PM. Volunteers provide childcare while parents study ESL.
Visit the Refugee Support Service’s WebsiteFruitful friends come alongside local refugees to build relationships with them in a family-to-family or individual-to-individual setting. Refugees often simply want an American friend with whom they can practice English, explore Charlotte, and learn about life in this new culture. To learn more about becoming a Fruitful Friend to a local refugee individual or family, attend the Refugee 101 Workshop.
Visit the Refugee Support Service’s WebsiteWant to get involved? To become a volunteer at Refugee Support Services click the following link to learn about the application process and to fill out an application form.