Powerhouse: A Hillcrest Church Tutoring Center

I'm admittedly bad at creatively naming something so that people are captivated by it. For our new tutoring program, I had named it as "Whittier Neighborhood Tutoring Center". Wow. Doesn't that sound catchy and just roll off of a middle school student's tongue! So we sent out some ideas to some folks, solicited their ideas, and came back with Powerhouse (thanks Pastor Ben!). Pastor Doug is the creative genius behind the sharp logo, and now we have a name and a picture to further define this endeavor. And it's much, much better than what I could have or would have come up with!

Hilllcrest Nominated for Group of the Year

Hillcrest was nominated by Volunteers of America as "Group of the Year" at the recent Spirit of Volunteerism Awards. While we didn't win, it was a meaningful event and neat to just be nominated for such an award. It's inspiring what so many people, groups, and businesses are doing for the local community, and humbling to be part of that group.

Hillcrest Mentors Nominated for Awards

Two weeks ago, Lutheran Social Services School Based Mentoring Program hosted its annual 'Mentor Appreication Breakfast'. The program gives out awards to individuals nomianted as 'mentor of the year', and two Hillcresters were nominated. Here's what was said about each of these fantastic people:

Mike: Mike truly possesses the qualities of a great mentor at Cleveland Elmentary. He’s dependable, reliable, consistent, fun and very active and interested in his mentee’s life. After the relationship blossomed through the mentor program, Mike became trained through Big Brothers so he could spend more time with his student. He really has adopted his mentee to be part of his family. As a business owner and father of three, there are many demands on his time. Most men wait until later in life to give back and impact the next generation, but Mike has added this role into his life and does it so well and with such humility and genuineness.

Christy: Christina is dedicated, caring, energetic and amazing! She has volunteered to mentor an English Language Learner student at Cleveland for the past three years, serving as a constant stable and inspiring person for this child. Christina is a busy, working mother of four. Despite the complexities of being a working mom, Christina shows that you can still make a difference in the life of someone else’s child who may not have all the advantages other kids have. Her mentee thoroughly enjoys her mentor time, to the point of noticeable changes in behavior on the days that Christina visits. The child says that Christina always is encouraging to her and tells her to always do her best.

Congrats to both and to all of the Hillcresters who mentor and invest their lives in those of the next generation!

Tutoring House Remodel

Wesley's house that Hillcrest is using for the tutoring program is need of a major remodel- the picture here is the upstairs bathroom that needs an extreme makeover and one of the more minor projects! We begin remodel work in May and there are several opportunities for Hillcresters to help- either on Wednesday evenings in May or during the 'demo weekend' of May 7-8. For more information, let me know.

Next Generation Worship

We start a new series this Sunday called "Next Generation Worship" in which each week features a different age group. This Sunday is the preschoolers, the second one is elementary students, the youth will be May 16, and we will do an intergenerational one on May 23. This was a fantastic idea from Pastor Ben and will be an excellent opportunity for these groups to showcase their ministries to the rest of the church. Plus, let's be honest, anytime 15-30 preschool students are on a stage, good things tend to happen!

Tutoring House Leader

I couldn't be happier- and the whole of Hillcrest is so very excited- with who has agreed to direct our tutoring program. Jessi Matson has been working in inner-city Detroit the last few years teaching and directing an after-school tutoring program for under-resourced children. She's a perfect fit for Hillcrest's new program, and actually gives us a head start in that she's done this before, knows what to look for, and knows what to do. While there will still be some kinks to iron out, as there are in any new project or endeavor, Jessi's experience and passion will allow Hillcrest and this project to lean into the kinks, learn from them, and keep doing our best at assisting the students. Jessi is also a proven relationship builder and will build bridges into the surrounding community, allowing Hillcrest to continue to partner with Wesley in reaching in an under-resourced area of Sioux Falls.

What are we going to do now?

On Sunday we announced to our members (we'll go live with everyone at services this Sunday) our partnership with Wesley United Methodist Church in providing after school tutoring for middle school students in the east part of Sioux Falls. Wesley currently operates an after school program for K-5th graders from Terry Redlin, an under-resourced school blocks away from their church facility. As their kids move onto middle school, they lose that program that builds relationships with them and focuses on steadily assisting their academic progress. There's several after school options for middle school students in Sioux Falls, so our program isn't about meeting an unmet need per sea, but Wesley's kids don't seem to move to these options. The fact that we can continue their program- in their vacant parsonage nonetheless (see picture)- by providing tutoring for their kids is a perfect fit for them and also for Hillcrest. One of the mothers of one of the 5th graders, who had made steady improvement through Wesley's program, asked "what are we going to now?". Her concern for her daughter was that while she was moving to a good middle school, who would help her after school like she's been used to? Hillcrest is happy to partner with Wesley in seeing if we can't be the answer to that question.