When the school bell rings in White River, South Dakota, children head to the church two blocks away each day from 3:30-5:30 p.m. There are always three volunteers Rev. Linda Baldock, Cathy Chapman and Donna Harris to greet them. Sometimes there are more volunteers to help with the afterschool activities.

Most churches have space that is unused during the week. White River United Methodist Church in White River, South Dakota has filled their space with kids and laughter.  Each day children from the public school come to the church and participate in an after-school program that is run by volunteers and donations.

This is the sixth year that White River United Methodist Church has provided the afterschool program. The church provides a space and volunteers each day for learning time, healthy snacks, laughter filling an otherwise empty church building. It is a church-school partnership where everyone wins in White River.

The program started in 2011. “We found out the school had lost their twenty-first century grant to operate an after-school program,” said Rev. Linda Baldock, White River UMC. “Children were hanging out on the playground and the streets. You could just see how often they were getting into trouble. We just felt that he children did not have exposure to church and didn’t have exposure to God.”

“The program is going well,” said Rev. Baldock.“We always start with more students in the program in the fall and then drop throughout the winter. We average about 18 participants each day. We have great volunteers, they're pretty much always there.”

The afterschool program continues to expand and involve United Methodists throughout the connection. Last summer, after learning about the after-school program, a group from the Minnesota Conference came and conducted a vacation bible school. A couple came from Alabama, visited the after-school program on the last day of the school year that the program was in session, and volunteered their help. They have kept in contact with Baldock and the volunteers in White River.

The curriculum for the program has taken a community focus. A 4-H leader comes once a week to provide another learning opportunity and encourage community involvement.

White River UMC has also expanded their partnership with the local school. The school nurse saw several children were missing free breakfast at school. Several students were arriving late and not participating because of weather, unreliable transportation, or just not feeling comfortable participating in the school breakfast program. There was a need to provide students a healthy mid-morning snack so they could function effectively in the classroom. The members of White River UMC began providing donations and arranging for healthy snacks that the school nurse could distribute to students as needed.

The church and school partnership at White River is one example of the possibilities in any community. One of the goals of the 2017 Kids Count Miracle Offering is to raise $100,000 for grants for church-school partnerships and to help new worshipping congregations send the children in their target communities to our United Methodist camps.  Eighty percent (80%) of the cash offering will go to support church-school partnerships and twenty percent (20%) will go to help our new churches send children and youth to camp.

All Dakotas Confernce churches recently received a packet with materials (click to download: poster, pledge card, offering envelope, bulletin insert, letter from the Bishop) to help them promote the Kids Count Miracle Offering to their congregations. Please share this giving opportunity!

Everyone Wins in White River from Dakotas UMC on Vimeo.