Written by Kristen Maxwell, Director of Bhutanese Kids and Youth Ministries

“The most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low-income children is to increase their access to print…..”(“America’s Child Care Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy”; Fight Crime; Invest in Kids, Sanford, Newman, et al, 2000) ”

At Mission Adelante we are excited about books, and what it means to place them in the hands of kids! This week we are launching a pilot initiative with one of our neighborhood elementary schools, the “Readers become Leaders Book Bins” are a service project of our Leaders in Training programs. The book bins function similarly to “Free Little Libraries” in that students can take a book, or leave a book. We hope to restock the bins on a weekly basis with picture books, chapter books and other reading material that is of interest to elementary school children. We also hope to distribute a large number of books before the start of summer to help prevent the “summer slide” in reading ability that many kids experience.

To make this happen though, we need your help! We are in need of children’s books in good condition to distribute in the schools. The highest area of need right now is early and mid level chapter books. If you would like more information on donating books and partnering with LIT as they spread the love of books, contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelatne.org.

Other News:

This week, Mission Adelante hosted the staff teams from Urban Scholastic Center and Bethel Neighborhood Center for lunch, fellowship, worship and prayer. We love our neighborhood partners!

Prayer Needs:

Please pray for three new Cuban friends who have just come to the U.S. seeking political asylum. They are resettling in Kansas City.

Current Needs:

Missions Trip Opportunity: "Volunteer Jackie Doyel is leading a short-term medical mission trip to Honduras in Tegucigalpa from July 2nd through July 9th for all who are interested in participating. No medical experience is necessary. They will meet the physical and spiritual needs of about 2000 Hondurans and put in concrete floors during this life changing trip. They will partner with World Gospel Outreach: www.wgoreach.org. If you are interested, please contact Jackie Doyel at 913-638-8630 or jackiedoyel@gmail.com. "
Serve with Adelante Thrift: Are you looking for an easy way to serve as an individual, with your group, or with your family? You can partner with Adelante Thrift and be a part of community transformation in Kansas City Kansas! Adelante Thrift has a wide variety of volunteer opportunities on daily basis for people of all ages, ranging from sorting, pricing and stocking donated merchandise to assisting customers and more. Work alongside our diverse staff including many who come from other countries and be part of our multicultural team! Please watch this video AdelanteThriftImpactVideo and visit our website to sign up www.adelantethrift.com/volunteer and we’ll contact you to discuss your interest and availability.
A Practical Way to Help Adelante Thrift: We are asking for donations of 1,000 pre-filled Easter eggs that are appropriate for children age 2-10 for Adelante Thrift to use for their Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza on Saturday March 26th from 12 pm - 2 pm. If you are interested in donating pre-filled Easter eggs, please contact Molly Merrick at 913-961-2984 or at mollym@missionadelante.org, you may also drop the pre-filled Easter eggs at Adelante Thrift 3720 State Ave Kansas City, Kansas 66102. We would love for you and your family to join us for the Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza on Saturday March 26th, 12 pm - 2 pm.

Important Dates:

Have you ever wondered what goes on around Mission Adelante on a typical evening of our outreach programs? Here's your chance to come up and find out! Everyone is invited to our Observation Nights: Tuesday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. for our Bhutanese Outreach, and Thursday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. for our Latino Outreach. Come to 22 S. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102.
Spring Break: March 14-18, there will not be any programs during this time. The Mission Adelante office will be closed March 16-18.