What we need

Every year here at CSM Philly we go around to all of the sites which we serve at during the year and say "Thank you!"  Thank you for letting us volunteer here and thank you for being so kind to our groups.  Going on these visits has been one of my favorite parts with CSM so far.  We've heard awesome stories about how God has moved with the groups: kids loving puppet shows, summer staff getting the needed extra hands, "you helped us complete more tasks than we could have done ourselves."

Last week we visited a school/summer camp that has incredible amounts of corporate sponsors.  You walk into the building and wonder what they could possibly lack.  They have new everything from carpets to computers to sound recording equipment.  They have books and space for the kids to read.  They even have enough classrooms for each grade level to have their own space to sit, pack away their bookbags, and hang up their own artwork on the walls.

But when we talked with the volunteer coordinator and first grade teacher Ms. C, I realized why we go there.  "Your groups are so important," she told us.  She waved around at the fully equipped room and said, "These kids come back from the summer losing on average two grade levels of reading ability in the younger grades.  Each kid needs someone to sit down with them and read with them every day.  How can I do that?"

"With your groups, though," Ms. C said, "the parents have told me!  Their kids come back from the summer knowing more than when they came!  And that's because you all can sit down with them and read with them.  That's what we need; people to sit and read with them."

I remember one of the weeks I spent at this summer camp.  Each of the kids would pick their books and curl up in the hallway with their "Mentor" for the week and read.  I loved looking up and down that hallway watching the kids show off their skills to their mentor.  I remember the excitement on my kid's face when he saw me come back every day.

"On average, a family has one book at home.  One!"  Ms. C shook her head.