Servias Ministries Blog

We help where ever there is an unmet need:

We are so grateful to Servias Ministries for helping some of our students make college more of a reality.  This generous gift allowed 14 students in the Fall and 11 students in Spring to take college classes in high school. The students who received the concurrent scholarship were able to complete a total of 75 college credits.  The generosity of your organization allowed economically disadvantaged students to take college classes who otherwise might not be able to afford concurrent class fees. Again, the support of the community is invaluable in helping our students realize their full potential.   It takes a village to help support our young people and build brighter futures. 

Judie Meier, M.Ed.

Piedmont High School Counselor 10th-12th grade Ph-Z

Go Wildcats!

Just in from the grade school counselor:

I wanted to update you on the gift cards. We used several over the holidays. I bought several coats for kiddos and some shoes. We had a family we provided both Target and Crest Food cards to so that they could have Christmas. The Mom was at the school for a meeting for her daughter, who has special needs, and she mentioned that she had told her children they would not be able to afford Christmas this year. I provided this family with cards so that they could purchase presents and food for the Christmas holiday.  

Thank you for supporting those in need!

From the counselor (last week before the snow storm):

Now that it is finally getting colder, we have distributed more of the coats! 

I just heard about a middle school student that needs new shoes. His PE teacher had noticed that the only shoes he has for school is a pair of worn out crocs. When he talked to the student about trying to wear some tennis shoes for PE (for safety reason) the student told him that he didn’t have any other shoes. I haven’t gotten it taken care of yet, but I’m going to try to go to Target and see what I can find for him! 

Our Target gift cards allow the counselor to act quickly on the student’s behalf.

We have increased the inventory of food cards for the school counselors and teachers to hand out in the coming week. We want all the families in need to enjoy a Thanksgiving. We also delivered 20 coats of various sizes to be handed out as the cold weather arrives.

We appreciate your financial support allowing us to help those in need.

From one of the counselors:

I have a single Mom who had to flee a domestic violence situation, I believe the ex was put in jail over it and she has been living paycheck to paycheck this year. I provided them grocery cards and target cards for clothes as the 2 boys have very little clothing options and were wearing the same clothes 2 times a week.

I had another Mom of a special needs child who had just had a baby who just found out her thyroid cancer had returned. Her children’s father was deported and told he could not return for 20 years. I provided her with pull-ups and diapers.

I purchased some snacks for food insecure students to keep in the classroom so that they had access to food during snack time. 

I have purchased 4 pairs of shoes so far this year, also for kids that were wearing shoes that were either way too big (an older sibling’s shoes) or were worn completely through. 

Another Testimony:

We had a meeting with a parent yesterday. One of the issues we discussed was that we have recently been having an issue keeping the his shoes on- a lot of this is due to shoes not fitting him properly because of medical braces (AFOs) that he has to wear. This causes him to run around his classroom and the school with nothing but socks on. His mom is trying so hard to get her feet back on the ground, but there have been a lot of set-backs. Most recently, the child has had some significant health issues causing her to have to miss quite a bit of work to stay home with him. In his meeting yesterday, we discussed getting him adaptive shoes that are designed to be worn with his AFOs. The student’s physical therapist was in here and knew that Target sells the type of shoes that would work for him. We were able to get online and let the PT and the student’s mom pick out some shoes for him and get them ordered for them. 

Thank you so much for giving US the gift of being able to meet a big need on the spot! 

From the school counselor we work with:

I wanted to share about my personal Village student. Our nurse identified last Fall that she needed an eye exam. I mentioned it to mom several times throughout the schoolyear but mom never followed through on making an appointment. This mom never responds to calls from the school but she always responds if I call or text her personally. The student mentioned a couple weeks ago that she still hadn’t been to the doctor. I worked with the nurse to get them set up with Soonercare. We identified that the whole process was just too overwhelming to mom. So I got her a phone number for a pediatric optometrist that accepts Soonercare and told her that I would help her figure out transportation once she scheduled an appointment.
The little girl ran up to me this morning and was so excited to tell me that she finally had an eye doctor appointment and was going to get classes! It’s a couple weeks away but I’ve been able to help mom arrange transportation through Sooner Ride.
Last year we gave mom Crest cards several times throughout the year. I’ve also provided snacks and frequent check-ins with the student. The harder part is providing accountability for the mom even and having tough conversations with her about attendance and the child’s needs. A year ago, she was extremely defensive and wanted nothing to do with anyone from the school. But we’ve been able to establish trust and a good relationship where she knows I prioritize her kid. Now we’ve been able to introduce her to community resources that she can access on her own. I feel very strongly about getting them to church next.

I know that there are so many kids out there in similar situations. We may never identify or help ALL of them, but what a gift to be able to help the ones that God opens the door for!

Bob, 

We are ending this year with a bang, and I had to share with you! Every quarter, elementary teachers submit a student from their class for an award called Sensational Citizen. This is a student that has demonstrated exemplary behavior and modeled the school’s core values of Respect, Responsibility, and Readiness. It’s not uncommon for the same kids to receive the award year-after-year through their elementary career. And while they are very deserving and work hard for this honor, it always stands out when someone unexpected receives the honor. 

Today was that day. I was quite honestly shocked when I heard this student’s name called because I know some of the struggles his teachers have gone through in the past with him. And then his teacher sent out a message to the staff that said: “I need you all to know that I have not lost my mind, but this boy right here has had a complete and total change, and has truly done what is needed to earn this award this last quarter of school! He has overcome so much! Love on him if you see him! I hope and pray it carries into his future years.”

I wish I could describe the way his face lit up when he heard his name called. This is a kid who NEVER expected to be honored like this. As I kept thinking about it throughout the day, I realized that he was an original Villager. Mrs. Kirkpatrick and I each had specific kids in mind when we dreamed about The Village program, and his face is on that list. He has not always been easy to love.  When we say “It takes a village,” there are no words more true to describe his elementary career so far. So many people have provided emotional and physical support for this kid. Thanks to Servias Ministries, he has received 2 winter coats, shoes, lots and lots of clothes and probably hundreds of dollars of snacks and food over the years! But one of the things I will never forget is when we gave him and his brother bicycles. His Villager picked one out for him, you ordered it, our maintenance staff assembled it, and those boys were so excited that they rode their bikes down the hallway and out the doors of the building because they couldn’t wait to get on them! 

There are so many kids that we give everything we know to give. We lose sleep over these kids because we feel like nothing we can do will ever make a difference. A lot of times we never get the privilege of seeing the rewards. And then sometimes, after 4 long years, we see the Light and it makes it all worth it. This is a kid that I’m not sure we would have been able to reach without your support. His teachers would have loved him and cared for him, but I truly believe that he learned to trust us because we were able to meet him in tangible ways. 

Three different local high school kids’ apartments were totally burned down.  These were low-income apartments.  We saw the story on the local news channel.  We supplied Target and food gift cards for the families through their high school counselor.  Clearly, their needs are great.

This is a further expansion of our impact on local schools.  Thanks for your continued support.