Urban Center Ministries Grant Report Summaries 2017-18

Neighborhood House 2017 Summer Youth Program Overview: In keeping with our goal, The Summer Enrichment Program provided children ages 5–12 with a safe, fun, secure environment under the direction of qualified and dedicated professionals. The camp provided age appropriate activities that were educational, spiritual, recreational, culturally stimulating and designed to encourage social interaction. Youth were able to attend Camp Pecometh as well. The overall goal was to nurture the campers by providing supervised daytime activities that helped them begin the new academic year with increased skills and combatted summer learning retention loss.

Statistics: 67 youth enrolled; Field Trips: 32; CampPecometh: 22

Reading Program: all youth

Urban Center Ministries Grant Funded the following:

Line Item / NHI / UCM Grant
Staff Salaries and Benefits / $67,000.00 / $10,000.00
Swim lessons at YMCA / $1,275.00 / $ 50.00
Transportation / $6,700.00 / $1,500.00
$74,975.00 / $ 12,000.00 total grant

Mt. Joy Flame Throwers Youth Ministry: The financial literacy programs at Mt. Joy UMC are bearing great fruit. We are seeing consistent participation in our elementary and middle school programs of sixteen students and have re-launched our high school program that has eight students. Children in all the programs have participated in program incentives that have taken them to the Universoul Circus and to the White House Congressional office. There were thirty-six students and chaperones who enjoyed going to Washington, D.C. The adults are acquiring more financial resources and knowledge that will allow them to establish a good financial foundation. Close to fifty families signed up for free financial assistance. The best part is that our Youth Media Ministry is blazing trails with their entrepreneurial skills that lend them to be role models for other young adult church programs and provide them opportunities to impact their community.

Mount Joy UMC Building Jumpstart Grant Mid-Year Update: This grant gave Mt. Joy the opportunity to revisit the possibility of a building expansion to further meet the needs of the congregation and community. We started by lifting this initiative up in prayer. By initially focusing on prayer, it helped Mt. Joy establish a strong committee with over 20 members, representing a cross section of the congregation and leadership. Each member understands that this building expansion is about congregational development. We are taking advantage of educational opportunities along the way to be better equipped. To help us explore the feasibility of this expansion, the committee members have been divided into 5 teams to cover all aspects of the project including property acquisition, community outreach and execution of a congregational survey. The building committee is well on its way in doing the due diligence necessary to make an informed decision about a building expansion.

Ezion-Mt. Carmel UMC: God’s Empowered Tweens Mid-Year Self Evaluation Summary: The Ezion-Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church through its God’s Empowered Tweens (GET) Mentoring Program, has successfully launched its spiritually-based outreach ministry into the Compton Village and ultimately the Asbury Garden communities and has achieved positive outcomes with regard to Finance, Curriculum Driven Life Skill Activities, as well as Delivery of Program Components and Program Structure Activities.

Curriculum-Driven Life Skill Activities; 11/16 mentees who started remain regularly engaged

formed a GET Choir, bi-monthly chapel services

Internet Café and Tutoring has served twenty school-aged children with an aggregate count of 48

sponsored Fellowship Dining ….and much more, with more to come!

Mt. Salem UMC Outreach Program: Friday Night Movies in the Park. That was the theme of Mt. Salem United Methodist Church summer Outreach effort during 10 weeks of Summer 2017. More than 200 unduplicated participant came out and enjoyed an evening of family fellowship, got to know church members and got to know other neighbors around the church. Each week a new children's movie was featured and just as many seniors as kids came out. Fun was had, friendships were forged and the ministry was successful. The icing to the cake of it all was the variety of fresh fruits, snacks, popcorn and beverages made available. This all donated weekly by the Kenny family ShopRite of Wilmington. Finally on the concluding week, we made a Festival of it all and had a moon bounce and pizza to add to the fun.

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