Almost a year ago, Brad Brizendine and I met with Felix Lora for the first time. Felix has been the executive director of the Sandy Springs Mission (SSM) for the last twenty years. SSM is a local, faith based non-profit organization that provides academic assistance to 280+ Latino children attending school at Lake Forrest Elementary, High Point Elementary, Ridge View Middle School, and Riverwood High School.
Mission Statement: The Sandy Springs Mission is dedicated to helping and inspiring Latino students from the Sandy Springs community. A faith-based, 501(c) 3 community organization, we provide year-round academic enrichment and spiritual development programs that are designed to transform the hearts and minds of our students as well as creating a lasting legacy for their families. We believe education leads to new opportunities and hope for very bright futures.
Vision Statement: We envision a community where all Latino students graduate from high school empowered with the life skills necessary to make wise decisions in life. Whether they go on to college or directly to work, graduates of the Mission will be equipped with the tools they need to be successful.
My initial reason for connecting with Felix was to explore the idea of what would ultimately become the Mission Baseball Academy, where through the support of Kairos and the Equipping Fund, we were able to give 45 Latino kids and experience of playing baseball for two weeks this past April.
I have continued to stay in contact with Felix, and recently the leadership of Sandy Springs Mission asked if Kairos would be willing to become a host location for after school tutoring. SSM has 25 fourth and fifth grade students who attend Lake Forrest Elementary who they would like to offer academic assistance to. It was great being able to tell Felix YES! Starting after Labor Day weekend, every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00-5:00 pm, students will come to our church to receive academic assistance.
Beyond playing the role of host, there is also opportunities for our community to directly engage the lives of these students who will be with us twice a week. The number one need now is finding volunteer tutors. Volunteering as a tutor can be something you can do once a month, you can do it twice a week, or some regular time commitment in between. The SSM staff is willing to work with the schedules of their volunteers. If this is something that interests you, I encourage you to send me an email so that I can tell you more, and put you in contact with the folks at SSM.
I’m excited about our emerging partnership with Sandy Springs Mission. They are doing great things in the lives of Latino children, and it will be exciting to see how God uses our church building and volunteers from our community to care for these kids.
Joe
joe@kairoisatlanta.org