Adopt a School

At Grace Community Church, a really fun thing we do is to “adopt” an elementary school in our neighborhood. Here are some of the things that we do for our school:

• On the first week of school, Teacher Appreciation Day and the last week of school, we take goodies and set them up in the staff room for the teachers and staff to enjoy.
• We offer up our tables, chairs, barbecue and anything else the school could use for school carnivals, back to school nights, fundraisers, etc. Not having to rent these things saves the PTA/PTO and the school money, and they really appreciate it.
• Every Christmas we get a list from the school of a couple families that could use some help. We get a gift and an item of clothing for every child in the family. We will even get something for the parents (sometimes grandparents) and food; sometimes we include the Christmas meal. We wrap all of the gifts with cards for the kids. The real fun comes when we deliver the gifts and food to the families.
• Our Youth Pastor and Children’s Minister form relationships with the after school program teachers and leaders. These are often younger adults who are responsible for the children from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. At least twice a year they will have pizza or ice-cream sundaes with them.
• I like to read in the classrooms on Read Across America day. I try to read in as many classrooms as I can and the kids remember the time you came to their classroom and read their favorite story.

One thing that we have learned through adopting local schools is that there are many things you can do and they are all appreciated. So get creative, have fun and don’t forget to include those secretaries and office managers.

About the author: Paul Canaday is the Lead Pastor of Grace Community Church in Sanger, California. Paul and his wife, Stacey, have 2 children, Jacob 5 and Zoe 3.

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