Leadville Christmas Project - Pictures available

Last year when we began our support of West Park Elementary School in Leadville, Colorado, one of the stories that broke our hearts was about a young boy that was sent to the Principal's office for refusing to complete an assignment. The students were asked to write an essay about something they received for Christmas, and it turns out the boy had not received anything for Christmas. He wasn't being stubborn or disrespectful - he had not gotten a present, so had nothing about which to write.

Not wanting another child to spend Christmas with no presents, we committed to send 15 presents per grade level for grades Pre-K through 4 or 90 presents. While this seemed like a daunting number for such a small church, we continued to believe our God is bigger than 90 presents. We ended up delivering over 100 presents to the kids in Leadville in December. Please visit our facebook page to view the pictures.

Leadville Christmas Project

We are launching a new project for the kids in Leadville to make sure each student receives a Christmas present this year. We are collecting school supplies, toiletry items, and small gifts to pack boxes. Our goal is 15 presents per grade level (Pre-K through 4).

If you choose to pack a box for a child, please do not seal or wrap it, and please label it with the age and gender that should receive it. You may also give items that can be used to fill boxes or wrapping paper. We also need people to help assemble and wrap the boxes, and deliver the gifts to Leadville the first week of December.

If you would like to participate, please send an email to meredith@wearetheriver.com.

Journey Chapel kids update

In June I was invited to Journey Chapel to share what the River is doing to serve the people in Leadville, CO. I spoke with elementary students in a missions class - about 10 students. They were serving in their church's coffee bar and could use the money they made toward any mission they chose as a class, perhaps Leadville. Tonight I returned to Journey Chapel to the missions class to speak with the kids about Compassion International. When I entered the classroom, there were several tables overflowing with school supplies the kids had purchased to donate to Westpark Elementary School in Leadville. Wow! What a blessing!

Collecting School Supplies for Leadville

The time has finally come to collect school supplies!

Office Max, Office Depot, and Staples are all running their big school supplies sales this week. All advertise "while supplies last." Items are available for pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters....limits are applied but we can each get supplies for very little cost to us. Walmart has crayons, glue sticks, spiral notebooks, and other supplies for 15-20 cents. If you prefer not to do the shopping but still wish to contribute, you can make a monetary donation and someone will shop in your place. You may drop off your donations at the Church at Woodmoor/The River at the corner of Hwy 105 and Furrow Rd. in Monument.

We will be taking school supplies to Leadville when we send our home-repair "Advance Team" August 29. The "Advance Team" will be meeting with families to assess their home repair needs, taking measurements, and making supply lists.

"Advance Team" trip postponed

We are sending an "Advance Team" to Leadville to assess the needs for housing repairs, compile lists of supplies, etc. Because there are no Home Depots in Leadville, we need to have supplies ready to take up ahead of time. Also, this allows us time to get better deals than simply buying retail. I have several leads on windows and other materials at or below cost.

The Elementary School is closed for the summer and the Principal is currently our only contact in Leadville. Because of this, the "Advance Team" trip is being rescheduled for early to mid August.

Leadville update - Pictures available

As you have read in previous blog posts, the River has "adopted" Westpark Elementary School in Leadville, CO. We have sent sweatshirts, coats, books, and puzzles. We recently were able to deliver bikes (1 new, 2 previously-loved) to be used as prizes for their Reading Program.

These kids were called into the Principal's office one day (ooooooh!) and were each handed a brand new ski jacket or hoody sweatshirt the River had shipped to the school. The kids were so excited they asked if they could call their parents immediately and share the good news.



Thanks to the generous donation by Criterium Bike Store (on Corporate Center Drive in Colorado Springs - the *BEST* bike store ever!), this young man received a brand new bike and helmet as the Grand Prize in the Reading Program held by the school. According to Criterium's owner the bike was sent by mistake over a year ago and she didn't feel right selling it. We know God makes no mistakes and it was no accident! He had planned this for more than a year!

Thanks to the generous donation of families of the River, this young lady received a previously-loved-but-not-worn-out pink bike and helmet. This was also a prize in the Reading Program held by the school.

Want to know more? Join our fan page on Facebook, or better yet, join us! If you are in the Colorado Springs/Monument/Castle Rock area or ever visit this area, we would love to have you join us! Check out our webpage at http://www.wearetheriver.org/ for more information.

Encouraging our brave soldiers

Please read the plea below and help by sending an encouraging card. There will blank cards available for the next few Sundays at the River services (5pm Sundays at the Church at Woodmoor - Furrow and Hwy 105).

There is a wounded soldier at the Fisher House in Fort Sam Houston by the name of Sgt. Daniel Thornhill. He lost both his legs and was burned on 56 percent of his body while serving his country in Iraq.

Thornhill has been at the Fisher House for a year and his parents are reaching out for support. They are asking that as many as possible service members, veterans and others send him a card to show him how much we love him for what he has sacrificed for his country. His parents are worried about his emotional status and he rarely has visitors.

Let's help this soldier and send him lots of cards:

Sgt. Daniel Thornhill

Fort Sam Houston Fisher House

3623 George C. Beach Road

Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234