Sunshine Christmas Store

Dear Friends, 

    The Sunshine Christmas Store is an annual opportunity to empower low-income families who otherwise may not have been able to afford quality Christmas gifts for their children.  Donations allow our parents to purchase gifts for $0.25 on the dollar that would otherwise be too expensive at most department stores. Our main goal is to share the love of Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation that he offers to the world. However, the Christmas season can be a painful time for parents who are not financially able to give gifts to their kids.  Our Store is just one of the many ways God has given us to show Christ’s love in a tangible way. 

     This is made possible through the generous support of churches, and individuals! We are asking for your support of our 2011 Christmas Store. We are asking for new, unwrapped items for children ages 0-18. Shopping for our store could easily become an annual church Christmas tradition.  We only ask that the gifts reflect sensitivity toward the African-American community we serve and that each donation would cost no more than 50 dollars.

    We have tried to make this as easy for you as possible.   As an option, we have registered as a Target List so for you who are out of town, a gift bought online can shipped straight to us at our building. (Address Below)  Our Target LIST name is: First Name: “Sunshine” and Last Name: “Gospel”, List Name: “Sunshine Christmas Store” and be accessed online or in stores. Of course, any other purchases can be sent to us or delivered.  Items needed include:

-Toys     -Games     -Clothes     -Baby Items     -Sports equipment     -Books     -DVDs and Electronics     -Wrapping Supplies

Final Drop–Off Date: Monday, Dec 5th 2011 9:00a.m.-4p.m.

Location:  Sunshine Gospel Ministries 500 E. 61^st Street Chicago, IL  60637

Christmas Store Date: Sat, Dec 10^th 2010 from 10:00a.m.-2:00p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact me at brost@sunshinegospel.org or 773.493.0656

Sincerely,

Brittney Rost

                                                        Christmas Store Coordinator

Education

Education has been on my heart and mind.  As we work with the kids in our neighborhood, the inadequacies of education flood every aspect of their lives.  As we sit in tutoring we see many of their scores behind, yet the real wake up call as struck me as I have stepped into their schools.  Over the past year I have been volunteering at Hyde Park Academy: our neighborhood high school.  As I have developed relationships there, spent time in classrooms, the lunchroom, or built with students, my eyes have been opened.

This is Hyde Park:
-It is ranked as a level 3 school, the lowest standing a Chicago public school can receive and is currently on probation
-Out of 1,800 students enrolled, the attendance rate is 73%
-Students meeting or exceeding testing standards: Reading 20.3%, Math 7.4%, and Science 8.4%
-The graduation rate is 47.1%

I'm sure that after you read these stats you feel the same way I do, a bit hopeless, yet concerned as to the changes that need to happen.  My weekly involvement in the school seems to just be a drop of water in the vast ocean.  Yet as I build relationship on top of relationship I pray that God will give me the wisdom and guidance as to best point these kids, who seem to be lost in the system, to the hope they have in Him.

As to the kids in our programs, we have started to be proactive in their education.  High schools in Chicago work different than most places.  Kids naturally go to their neighborhood high school, which in our case is Hyde Park.  Yet, if they score well enough in their 8th grade testing, they can apply for selective enrollment schools, which are the ones outside of our neighborhood and throughout the entire city. This requires testing, applications, and parental involvement, much like what most know as college applications.

By the grace of God most of our 8th graders have scored above the bar for their 8th grade testing and have met the minimum for selective enrollment applications.  So the fight begins.  We have begun to attend selective enrollment high school's open houses.  Our first was this past weekend at Walter Payton high school downtown.

Please be in prayer for our kids who are both in the rough schools and trying to find a better option.  With a lot of prayer and a lot of fight, we pray that we can begin to change lives from victims of the systems to victors.