We are continuing our ADVENT JOURNEY here at SJC as we move into the second week of Advent. We have a tradition of participating in child-centered reach-out projects during Advent. This year we have decided to again participate in the San Jose Mercury News Wish Book Project. You can log onto: www.mercurynews.info/wishbook/2009 to learn more about the Wish Book in general and your child!s class’s choice of projects in particular. Your Reach-Out Room Parents will be sending home letters describing the projects each class is sponsoring. Here is a thumbnail summary of the wonderful work our Advent Reach-Out Projects will be supporting:
Grs. K, 4, 7: ELLA • Life’s path was certain but not predictable (support for Pathways KIDS Program, which helps parents who have experienced the death of a child)
Gr. 1: READING PARTNERS • Volunteer tutors lead the way on the path to literacy
Gr. 2: TRAVEL UPGRADE • Minivan conversion can help single mom keep world just a ride away for son (helping a family with an 11 year-old son with cerebral palsy)
Gr. 3: BASIC BONDING • Offering support for “our families at Good Sam” (neonatal unit at Good Samaritan Hospital)
Gr. 5: ADOPT AN ANGEL • Letting foster children know that somebody cares
Gr. 6: FAMILY PLACE • Playground is final step to provide day care for homeless kids (for InnVision!s Georgia Travis Center)
Gr. 8: LIFE SKILLS LAB • Relearning how to live (through Services for Brain Injury, a San Jose non-profit rehabilitation organization)
Teachers: THE GIFT OF COMPANIONSHIP • Sometimes, seniors only need someone to talk to (to support the Senior Companion Program whose members provide companionship to seniors who are homebound, frail, isolated, and in some cases, at-risk of premature placement into a nursing home); the faculty dedicates this project in honor of and thanksgiving to the elderly members of our families and community
Please speak to your child(ren) about the meaning of these Advent Reach-Out efforts, and encourage them to give from their own money (we also gladly accept adult donations). All gifts will be due by next Thursday, December 17, and then will be presented and blessed during our Advent Prayer Service on December 18.
