At Vacation Bible School (VBS) we teach children how much God loves them, and we also teach them how to share God’s love with others through an outreach project that has local impact. At Cave Quest VBS, our outreach project will benefit young people served by Stepping Stones Foundation. Stepping Stones Foundation is a local nonprofit that serves Keller Independent School District students that are homeless or at risk. Beyond mentoring, Stepping Stones handles a slew of other needs – from helping a teen to get their drivers license to providing food and clothing to students and families. Additionally, the organization is home to Stepping Stones Boutique on Taylor Street in Keller.
“The Why” of what Stepping Stones does
When Keller ISD high school counselors identify a teen in crisis, they contact program founder Christina Bynum-Breaux at Stepping Stones to help. The counselors call these teens “couch hoppers” and “throw-away kids.” These are kids who may have come from abusive or drug-addicted parents, from households that can’t afford food or housing; some may have left home because family circumstances have become so bad. Through the magic of mentoring, many of Stepping Stones’ kids have broken cycles of poverty, addiction and abuse that would have defined their young lives.
What you can do to help
Christina at Stepping Stones has identified a specific need for socks and underwear for teenage girls, in all sizes. You may bring these donations to church during the whole month of June; this will be our church giving focus for the month and our outreach at VBS June 20-24. Drop your purchased pages in the marked VBS donation basket in the back of the church, or in a collection box in the east parish hall during VBS.
Please put this humble and straightforward donation request on your hearts; underwear is about dignity, it’s about health, it’s about confidence, and it is what we can do to meet some very basic needs of high school students in our local community.