C A R E dba The John 3 16 Center

Educating Children and Families: Twenty students participated in Wired for Success afterschool, receiving educational support, daily meals and snacks, and mentoring. 115 children were registered for Camp J316, who participated over the course of 6 weeks of camp. Camp J316 offered educational and socio-emotional skill building, character development, and recreation at the lake and in the community. Twelve adults participated in parenting conferences, which included some information on child development. Ten adults participated in CPR and First Aid training. With support from Sunbrella, we hosted a Back to School STEM event in Warrenton, partnering with Mag's Marketplace and the STEM bus from Turning Point Community Development Corportation.Through our new Roanoke Valley Afterschool Collaborative, we hosted 2 afterschool collaborative events: the first to gather information on local program needs and discuss the benefits of collaborating as afterschool/out-of-school time programs to increase support & access for all students and the second to share data for our communities from the NC Public School Forum's Roadmap of Need. The second session was led by Elizabeth Anderson, Executive Director of NC Center for Afterschool Programs. Seven collaborative members, in addition to four John 3:16 Center staff, attended the NC Center for Afterschool Programs Synergy conference in November. Each indicated that they left excited, with new ideas, and feeling supported in ways they had not experienced before.

Eradicating Generational Poverty: Through the course of the year, we provided food boxes for 154 families (438 individuals); for each of these families, we include an intake that gives us information regarding the situation the family is in and resources they are currently accessing so we can ensure they are connected to concrete resources and support. Additionally, we provided school supplies for 475 students to ensure they had the tools they needed to succeed in school. 4,715 meals and snacks were served to supplement food accessible at home or school and to reduce hunger. We also partnered with a local church to package 20,000 meals that were distributed to families through 13 organizations in the community we serve. Taking care of the basic need for food additionally empowers children and families to be able to focus on learning and longer-term needs. 551 children had their needs met for Christmas and 634 individuals received hygiene supplies. Through our thrift-based facility, the John 3:16 Community Resource Center, we met needs for clothing and/or household items for 69 families in crisis free of charge, offered days that we were open to the public so that low-income families can purchase needed items at a very low price point, and another location to access services for parenting, school supplies, Christmas outreach, and community education. 15 families received financial assistance with bills, paid directly to the service provider.