Thatcher Volunteers at Operation Exodus

Earlier today, 3 representatives from the House of Thatcher volunteered at Operation Exodus. Aimee Pham mentored 3rd grade girls, Mandy Patterson worked with K-1, and Becca Peterson helped with 5th graders. This semester, Operation Exodus has a superhero theme, and today we learned about the character trait of service. We studied the story of Jesus washing his disciples' feet and served the neighborhood by picking up trash. In the K-1 group, we made Thanksgiving cupcakes and went around the room saying what we were thankful for. The 3rd graders had a Thanksgiving meal. We all joined together in a time of praise and worship music. Thatcher President Becca Peterson enjoyed seeing all the kids interact with one another. She says, "It was amazing to see how the kids would latch on to you just minutes after they met you. It just shows how much they need love and stability. They are at an age where we can still be a really positive influence in their lives. They will steal your heart immediately." Thatcher hopes to continue working with them and building relationships with the wonderful staff and children.

Thatcher Sophomore Emily Deemer Volunteers With Operation Exodus

On October 15, Thatcher Sophomore Emily Deemervolunteered for Operation Exodus, a tutoring and mentoring program in Washington Heights. She describes her experience below:

This past Saturday, I spent the morning (9:15-12:30) mentoring kids in Washington Heights. Although the program reaches from K-12, I was working with the 3rd-4th grade girls (they were a handful, but definitely a lot of fun when they listened). As a mentor for Operation Exodus, my duties include preparing the week's Bible lesson and activities during the week with co-mentors and coming prepared on Saturday with patience, grace, and understanding for the kids that I'm working with. From what I've heard, consistency and authenticity is big with these kids (show, don't tell), so I'm really hoping to grow in that respect and build some stronger relationships within the next couple of weeks. A lot of times these kids are coming from situations in which there is no positive role model in their lives, so I'm totally excited for this chance to be a factor in kid's lives and hopefully represent Christ to them on a regular basis.

As far as the other mentors go, the group is tight-knit and really welcoming. Every week, they go out to the delicious Caribbean restaurant as a group, and this past week I was able to go a hike with them across the GW Bridge. I'm really hoping to form some solid relationships with a lot of these people over the next couple of weeks.

Cool Roofs, NYC

Last month, the Houses of Thatcher and Churchill, plus Greg Pittman, sent a total of ten students to help out with Cool Roofs, NYC. Read about it and see pictures in the ESB Tribune!

http://empirestatetribune.com/?p=2274