Servias Ministries Blog

FATHER sees the impact on those kids:

The Village program has been a game changer for the HS (high school). Two specific stories occurred late last year and during the summer. One family who has 4 students in the district reached out to me privately, asking for help regarding some activities they are participating in, While I couldn’t help with those activities, I did give them gift cards to Target, and Crest, and that helped them continue their participation in the school sponsored events. Another story occurred last year when a lower-income student was struggling and Mr. Marchino gave him some cards and the student just wept and fell into his arms. Since then, he has totally changed his attitude in school and comes to Mr. Marchino or myself when he is having a bad day.

I met with Mrs. Donley at the middle school last week. There is a middle school boy whose dad is in the end stages of a cancer diagnosis. This was one of the families that Servias blessed last Christmas. He will be undergoing a very extensive surgery which will require them to be out of state for several weeks. They met with Mrs. Donley a couple of weeks ago to talk about the impact that all of this will have on them. She was able to provide them with some Crest cards provided by Servias to help financially as they’re navigating all of this. In situations like this, we often feel like there is nothing we can do because the situation is so heavy. But what a blessing that she could not only love them, encourage them, and support them emotionally, but she could also provide something tangible. 

A counselor at the local elementary wrote:

I gave a family who just arrived from Nicaragua some Crest and Target gift cards. The mother recently passed away and the youngest daughter ended up in the hospital. Dad was struggling to provide clothes that fit for the children. He greatly appreciated us providing him some support.

Thank you for making this possible!

We appreciate your continued support. Every dollar you give is directed to those in need and you are laying up Heavenly Treasures to your account with FATHER. We provide seeds of hope for these kids as well we are a testimony to the teachers, counselors, and administration. You are examples of Love in action by your giving!

Today, your contributions were used to pay off school cafeteria lunch debt for 71 elementary students who could not afford to buy their own meals. This elementary school has a substantial number of kids in the poverty level.

The cafeteria worker stated that she looks forward to telling each of these students, “Your debt has been wiped out!”

Your contributions (whether large or small) are central to us ministering to the poor. Thank you!

I wanted to share this picture…this is one of our AMAZING Villagers that has been paired with the same student for almost 2 years. She always goes above and beyond to look out for him and he absolutely adores her. If not for the Village, their paths never would have come across each other. Ms. Butler got him stocked up to make sure that he has plenty of food (including some special treats!) over Spring Break next week!

Thank you for your generosity for these kids in need!

The admin team at the high school was meeting today and the counselors said that we had a new kid start school this week and he’s worn the same sweatshirt every day.  When the counselor asked him how he and his family were doing he said,”it’s hard.  I have several brothers and sisters and we don’t have any money.  I saw him in the hallway later in the morning and asked him if he would come see me (he thought he was in trouble).  I told him I just wanted to talk to him.  He came by at lunch and I gave him a gift card.  He took it and I said,”it’s a $50 gift card.”  He looked up with a huge smile and with an elevated voice said,”REALLY!!!”  I said,”yes!  Use it and go get another sweatshirt or whatever you need!”  He said, “thanks” 3 different times and left with a huge smile on his face!

Thank you to those who are able to join us in blessing these kids!

From one of the principals:

2 weeks ago I brought an upperclassman student to my office who was in trouble.  He started crying telling me that his mom’s car broke down and she got laid off from work.  He said he’s working but still doesn’t have any money.  He said his mom’s birthday was the day before and he didn’t have enough money to get her a birthday cake.  I gave him a few gift cards that were donated and he started crying again.  He stood up in my office and said,”can I hug you?”  I hugged him and told him to take the cards and get what his family needed.  I told him to let me know if he needed help in the future.  He left the office but not before he gave Mr. Jewell a hug too.

As you can see, our giving is impacting the hearts of those kids and they will not forget it.

Our latest report:

We have a high school student that others have a hard time being around because of his hygiene. He shared about his housing situation with his teacher and our nurse, and it was heart-wrenching. As you know, many of our kids have poor hygiene and living conditions and suffer the consequences at school when so much of it is out of their control because of decisions their parents are making. Our nurse and special education director had a heart-to-heart with this student about things he could do. He agreed to take a shower at school in the gym locker room. Our SPED director went to Target and purchased toiletries and new clothes to keep at school for him so that he could shower and get dressed here before going to class. 

About two weeks ago, a middle school teacher approached me about another student that stood out to him in class. I love when our male teachers are able to have these conversations with our male students because they need that sort of role model in their lives. Mr. Baker was able to purchase hygiene supplies for this student- but the best part was that it didn’t just come as a handout. He actually built a relationship with this student and it was evident to him that it was done out of love and not pity. 

FATHER’S Love is being expressed and your financial support is an integral part of it!