Christmas in Lubbock

Recently, Lubbock staff arranged, through a partnership with the South Plains Food Bank, for twelve families in our Grandparents As Parents Program and Partnership In Parenting Program to have food for Christmas. Helen Crossland and Abbie Garcia delivered boxes of food to twelve families on Friday, December 18.

Abbie and Helen also prepared Christmas gifts for two of the Lubbock-area GAPP families. These two families care for a total of 20 grandchildren, so there were plenty of gifts to go around!

It is inspiring to see the personal impact that Methodist Children's Home is making on the lives of these parents, grandparents and children. Way to go MCH Lubbock!

Christmas at MCH

Here are some photos from the Christmas celebrations on our Waco campus, Boys Ranch and Waxahachie campus this year. Thank you to all the staff, donors and friends who help us share the joy of Christ with our children throughout the year!











To view even more photos from Christmas, click here to go to our MCH Facebook Fan Page. You do not need a Facebook account to view the photos.


But if you do have a Facebook account you can "Become a Fan" of Methodist Children's Home and get access to exclusive updates and content! To find our Facebook Fan Page go to: www.facebook.com/wacomethodistchildrenshome

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Methodist Children's Home! May your hearts and homes be filled with the love of Christ. Click the image below to view our Christmas e-card.

Celebrate!

There is much to celebrate within the MCH community, and specifically, the Charter School. Following are three great reasons to appreciate the work of our Charter School.

National Distinction
U.S. News & World Report recently gave Methodist Children's Home national recognition by naming our University of Texas Charter School as a Bronze Medal Charter School. This is the second year we have received an honorable distinction. For more information on our ranking, click here.

Graduates
On Friday, December 18, eight proud young people walked across the stage at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church and received their much-deserved high school diplomas. Congratulations to all of our MCH Charter School December graduates: Ashleigh, Brecken, Gabe, Irwin, JT, Kyra, Sam and Terri. May God guide, bless and protect you as you begin a new chapter of life.



Athletics
MCH's University of Texas Charter School was recently awarded The Texas Charter School Academic and Athletic League announced its All-Region Teams for Boys Flag Football and Girls Volleyball.

William (an MCH athlete) was the leading vote getter in first place votes (2) and second in overall voting points with 24 for Flag Football and Brittany (another MCH athlete) led the Volleyball ballot in first place votes (3) and overall points (36).

Other MCH All-Region Team Members include:

Flag Football:
JD
Javen
Chance
Wade
Christian

Volleyball:
Victoria
Taylor
Ashleigh




This is a huge accomplishment for our Student-Athletes. Please congratulate them on a fantastic year. The All-State Teams will be announced in January, 2010. We will keep you posted!

Boys Ranch on UM-TV

Boys and staff from MCH's Boys Ranch were recently filmed and interviewed for a United Methodist Television short feature. You can view the video below, or click here to view the video in Windows Media Player through the UM-TV website.

If you would like to show this video to your church or community group, it is available on YouTube on UM-TV's channel. The video is also available for download on the UM-TV website. To reach the site, click here.

Christmas in Corpus

Christmas came to Corpus Christi early this month! The Corpus Christi outreach office hosted a Christmas Party complete with snacks and plenty of presents for the children. Here are a few photos of the MCH foster families who work tirelessly to provide loving homes for children in the Corpus Christi area.





If you have Christmas pictures from your MCH Christmas parties, send them our way! Click the blue button below to submit your fun Christmas stories and photos!

MCH Youth in Magazine

Several students and staff from MCH were recently interviewed and photographed for a feature article in Baylor's Focus magazine. Focus is a production of the Baylor journalism department and is a collaborative project for journalism students in Baylor's undergraduate and graduate programs.

The article was entitled, "A Second Chance at Home" and chronicled a day in the life of a typical MCH resident. Click here for the text version of the article.

Do you want to see the full color spread as it appeared in the magazine? Click the links below to be redirected to the article PDFs where you can view these great photos as they were meant to be viewed!

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3

Thank you to all the MCH students and staff who helped to make this article possible. It is a great way to spread the word about our great organization!

MCH Employee Honored

Annie Rice, director of the Corpus Christi outreach office, recently received the 2009 Volunteer Peer Group Facilitator of the Year Award from Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

In her nomination, Annie was praised for her willingness to facilitate Parents Helping Parents groups with empathy, appreciation, honesty and concern. In addition to her voluntary partnership with Methodist Healthcare Ministries, Annie works with families in Corpus Christi and surrounding areas by offering foster care, family preservation and case management services through Methodist Children’s Home.

Way to go, Annie!

Christmas Decor and Snow

As MCH staff and volunteers rush to wrap the last Christmas gifts for our youth, our Waco campus and Boys Ranch are putting up decorations and sharing the Christmas spirit. And nothing helps spread Christmas cheer quite like snow!

Here are some photos of the brief, but beautiful, snowfall on the Waco campus.

There have been rumors of snow in other areas of the state as well. If you have fun Christmas updates from your local MCH outreach office, send them our way by clicking the blue button below!

Fall Festival

The Waco campus and Boys Ranch recently held a fall festival out at the Ranch. With the wide variety of activities offered, there was definitely something for everyone.

The day of festivities began with outdoor worship at the equestrian pavilion on the Ranch. After worship, our youth enjoyed a great picnic lunch complete with a huge selection of desserts that were entered in the dessert competition.

Games and activities included: horseback riding, tractor-pulled wagon ride, bucking barrel ride, ring toss, balloon popping, seed spitting contest, face painting, an inflatable challenge course and more. Thanks to the work of our great recreation staff, both MCH young people, and even staff members, had a great time taking in all the fun. Here are some photos from this special event.

El Paso Outreach

The El Paso outreach office was provided a wonderful opportunity to engage with the greater foster care community this past week. The El Paso area hosted a Child Advocacy Recruitment Effort Conference to train child-care workers and expand awareness of the needs of children.

The conference focused on training current advocacy staff, but also allowed agencies the opportunity to share information about their organization with individuals interested in becoming foster parents. Jorge Soto, director of the El Paso outreach office, attended the conference and shared about the ministry of the Home.

Thanks to all of our outreach office staff for the work they do every day to help Methodist Children's Home provide hope to youth across Texas and New Mexico.

MCH Shirt Design Winner

Congratulations goes out to Kat, a Waco campus resident. Kat recently won an MCH student t-shirt design contest and her design will be printed on the new shirts! Here is her winning design. Way to go, Kat!

Senior Ring Sunday

Methodist Children's Home has a tradition of giving our seniors a senior ring to commemorate their high school experience. Each year, the rings are presented to the students by campus administrators during a special Chapel service.

The service is a meaningful time for our current MCH Waco campus and Boys Ranch seniors to reflect of their time at MCH and what they want for their future. This year, 25 seniors received their rings at this ceremony. Congratulations to all our seniors. You have a great future ahead of you!

MCH Roll Call

Roll Call is a new feature of the MCH blog. On Roll Call posts we will feature a young person served by one of our programs. We hope that this feature will help put a face and a name with the many great programs we offer. And it will also allow you to see what life is like for one of our young people.

Name: Ella

Favorite color: Green

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Favorite memory: When I got a dog

Biggest pet peeve: Rumors

Favorite movie: Titanic

Favorite food: Hot wings

Interesting fact: I know sign language

Future goal: To be a sign language interpreter


Do you know an MCH young person who would enjoy being profiled on Roll Call? If so, please submit their name and information by clicking the blue box below this post.

Bulldogs Take State

Here are some highlights and photos from the TCSAAL State Championship this past weekend. The championship was held on the Waco campus and both our volleyball and flag football teams competed for state titles.

The MCH volleyball team won against the Sanchez Charter School in their first championship game and then advanced to the final game against Mt. Carmel. Although the Lady Bulldogs came in second in state, Mt. Carmel's team which has gone undefeated for three years said that the MCH volleyball team was the best competition they have had in a very long time. Way to go, Lady Bulldogs!

The MCH Bulldogs took on The School of Liberal Arts and Sciences for their first flag football championship game, winning with a score of 33-12. The final game, against Hampton Preparatory also brought the Bulldogs a win with a score of 26-6, but this win also earned them rights to the TCSAAL state title! Congratulations to all the MCH athletes and coaches for a great season.