Author Archives: Mark Parrish

Laughing and reflecting, Jana Hutzler , Project HELP Program Director, said,“My feet hurt…but my heart is very very full!!! ” Project HELP, a partnership between FWCC and Living Well Foundation, along with 36 volunteers invested in the lives of Lenwil, Riser and Riverbend Elementarys … Continue reading →

  The Kids Hope Ministry held its annual Thanksgiving Banquet for the students, volunteers and their families  in the program from Riverbend Elementary and Crosley Pre-K and K.   It was a time of fellowship and sharing of appreciation by the … Continue reading →

Just a few weeks into our new after school program at Riverbend Elementary, teachers are already reporting improvements with students.  During a recent meeting, teachers indicated that students in the program are getting substantially better conduct grades, they are showing more … Continue reading →

  New Generations – First West’s After School program at Riverbend Elementary – kicked off Tuesday.  We had a group of really excited kids, already proclaiming the program as “awesome”.  One child said he was going to sleep at the … Continue reading →

We are geting ready to kick off our new after school program at Riverbend Elementary in a couple of weeks and we are looking for people to read outloud to groups of students. Studies show that reading to young children makes a big … Continue reading →

Summer 2011 Broaden Horizons came to a close recently.  We had a Student Building full of energetic middle school and high school age youth (50); most of them from the Riser Middle school area which includes the Riverbend neighborhood. After spending 8 hours … Continue reading →

Project HELP (Healing. Education, Life Skills, Parenting)  is a ministry of our Counseling center and is co-funded by the Living Well Foundation.  Its goal is to improve the mental, emotional and behavioral health of students in the Riverbend, Riser and Lenwil school zones through … Continue reading →

Project HELP is a ministry based out of our Counseling center and is funded by the Living Well Foundation.  Its goal is to improve child health through counseling, education, support group and mentoring services.  The effectiveness of the approach is … Continue reading →

Debbie Robertson, (Executive Office Director at First West), and Richard Gates (Local Ministries Pastor) recently assisted with mock job interviews for our Jobs For Life program at Broaden Horizons.  Here are some thoughts from Debbie…. They are young, energetic, imaginative … Continue reading →

We received a very nice note from a guidance counselor at Riverbend Elementary.  We have around 70 mentors that participate in Kids Hope mentoring program at the school.  Here are excerpts from her note: “I wanted to let you know again … Continue reading →