Emergency Christian Ministries set to unveil new family reading room

When folks are down on their luck and need to utilize the services provided by the local homeless shelter, it shouldn’t mean that any children involved in the situation have to fall behind in their education as a result.

That is the general idea behind a newly remodeled portion of the Emergency Christian Ministries building in Williamsburg that will be dedicated primarily to supporting literacy among young visitors, both during and after their time there.

Tammy Meadors is the Community Engagement Coordinator with Save the Children, the organization that is ultimately responsible for bringing the new family reading room to Emergency Christian Ministries. She said, “We try to reach children where they are in the community, and we know that reading is one of the most important things that you can do with a child to help ensure their success in school, and in life.”

“When we decided to do this room, we didn’t just want to put a few books in there and be done,” Meadors explained. “We wanted it to be a room where kids can go to escape for a while. To know that they matter, and are important. The books will not just be for the room, but also for the children to take with them when they leave and begin building their own at-home libraries.”

Susan Jett is the acting director at Emergency Christian Ministries. She said that it is important for younger visitors, and their families, to have a space like this to just be together, and enjoy some sense of normalcy.

“We have taken this room and transformed it into a resource center for children with the funds that Tammy was able to secure through Save the Children,” Jett said. “They will be able to go there to read and play games. It is important for the shelter to have a space like this, because many of the rooms are smaller, so to have a place where kids and their families can go and just read together is a big asset. I am very thankful that Save the Children has taken this project on.”

Meadors and Jett worked with Kathy Ballew in designing the room, which features a hand painted mural of trees and different wildlife.

“God was in this one hundred percent,” said Ballew, who works in the Family Resource Center at Whitley East Elementary School. “Dakota Bunch is a very talented artist who was staying at the shelter when we asked him to contribute. He drew a fox freehand that was absolutely amazing. Just because someone happens to be in a homeless shelter, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t talented. Depending on the circumstances, any of us could find ourselves in that situation.”

“When I first met him, he kept his head down all the time,” Jett said of Bunch. “But when all of this came about, it was like an overnight miracle. Suddenly he was looking me in the eye, and smiling. Working on that mural helped him gain a lot of self-confidence, and it has been a blessing to watch that happen.”

Thanks to the efforts of Jett, Meadors, Ballew, Bunch and others, children and families utilizing the homeless shelter will now be able to benefit from this brand new space, which goes far beyond simply having a dedicated room to read a book or play a game. As explained by Veronica Rainwater, Community Engagement Lead Associate for Save the Children in Whitley and Knox counties, the educational value cannot be overstated.

“When it has to do with education, if a child falls behind before third grade it is very, very difficult to get that child back on track,” Rainwater said. “They are behind on almost everything from that point on, so one of the focal points of Save the Children is reading proficiency by the third grade. Keeping them on track and giving them literature to read is very important.”

The ribbon cutting for the new family reading room at Emergency Christian Services is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, March 29. The community is invited to attend, and Jett said that anyone willing to donate to help the cause is certainly welcome to do so. Monetary donations are always most helpful to the non-profit organization, but things like canned goods and gently used clothing items are always welcome as well.

For more information, search for Emergency Christian Ministries on Facebook, or give them a call at (606) 400-1464.