Help an At-Risk Child Grow Through Kids2Camp

Want to build an at-risk child’s self-esteem, character and spiritual relationship with God? Then help support Bethlehem Center of Charlotte’s Kids2Camp program! For over 50 years, Bethlehem Center has sent kids in need away to Summer Camp. This year is no different! Our goal is to raise donations to send 70 kids, ages 7-12 years, to either Camp Tekoa in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina or SeeWee Coastal Retreat Center near Charleston, SC. Jared Keaton, our Associate Executive Director explains, "Our Kids2Camp program not only exposes kids to the “great outdoors” it helps build the elements of a successful Christ-centered life: faith, fellowship, hope, and love."

Right now, we are thrilled to be halfway to our goal of raising $16,000 to send all 70 of our children to camp. How much does it cost for a child to be away for four days of personal growth and great food? A total of $230 which is less than $60 per day!

But what does Summer Camp really mean to these at-risk youth? Well, we asked our kids and here is what they said:

"What I learned at camp was to be friendly and to be at peace with God. Camp was a fun experience for me. I would really like to go back, because we went camping and I got to be closer to God." -TaDarian G.

"What I’ve learned going to camp is to be yourself, the most important thing. Make a decision that you think is right. Be a leader, never follow. If you lead other kids would want to do the same." -TaSia G.

For more information on our Kids2Camp program, contact Renee Bromfield, Director of Community Relations at rbromfield@bethlehemcenter.org or by phone at 704-371-7404.

Bethlehem Center of Charlotte welcomes Ms. Tamisha Williams as the new Site Administrator for the After-school program at Bethlehem Center. The last two years, Ms. Williams was with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools where she was the Site Administrator for children grades 6 thru 12 at the Northwest School of Art.

She is a graduate of Barber-Scotia College in Concord, NC and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and Journalism. She also obtained her Early Childhood credentials from Central Piedmont Community College. Since 1997, Ms. Williams has worked with children at all grade levels in both the classroom and in After-school programs. She explains, “My passion is children; my drive is children; my love is children. Listening and lending a helping hand to help children; to make this world a better place is my motto. “

Welcome Renée Bromfield!

The Bethlehem Center of Charlotte is proud to welcome Renée Bromfield as the new Director of Community Relations. Renée moved to Charlotte from Dallas, Texas in July of 2008 where she managed her own company specializing in marketing, branding, events and fundraising. In addition, she served as Director of International Business Relations for the Dallas Regional Chamber.

Renée is an alumna of Vanderbilt University and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Methodist University where she majored in Marketing and minored in Psychology. Upon graduation, she was inducted into the Golden Key National Honor Society.

In addition, Renée is an actively engaged in her church and the community. In the past, she has worked with various philanthropic organizations in Dallas including Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), The Center for Non-Profit Management, Parkland Hospital and Scottish Right Hospital for Children. Currently, she is involved with Room in the Inn, Carolina Breast Friends and the Mint Museum.

An active member of the Episcopal Church community, Renee has served on over 15 committees and ministries. Recently, Renée joined Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Charlotte where she serves as a lector and may co-lead an adult bible study in the fall. She also attends a weekly Methodist bible study called Companions for Christ. During her free time, Renée likes to Skype with her three year old nephew in Denver, CO, read, travel and needlepoint.

Exercise as a part of programming

Last night, the teens started their season of tennis lessons held Tuesdays and Thursday nights during the summer. It was a perfect day for it. At least, the best you can get in a Carolina summer. It was approximately 80 degrees, sunny, with shade surrounding the courts for on-looking parents.

Teens were split into two groups for some friendly competition. The game? See which line can hit the most balls "in" on the other side.

Next stop was elimination fences. It's kind of like playing doubles, except there is a line of people waiting for you to mess up so they can take your place. Hit the ball out or into the net? Go to the back of the line. Miss the ball completely? Elimination. Of course there was some (friendly) trash talk as to who would get out first. The one who beat us all? A 6-year-old who stood no more than 4 feet tall.

The Bethlehem Center incorporates healthy living and exercise into all of our programs. With childhood obesity on the rise, we want to make sure our kids are out and about playing sports (or at least, in the auditorium dancing) as much as possible. Of course, the staff favorite event is the staff vs. kids basketball tournament, where at least for the last 3 years the kids have beaten the staff by at least 20 points. Maybe this year...

If you have a special sporting skill that you'd like to share with the kids or teens, let us know! We'd love to have you!

5-Star Ratings

At many child care centers, the goal of licensing is to simply stay operational.

But not here.

Our goal is to achieve 5-star ratings at all of our locations. A lofty goal? Absolutely! For those of you reading this who have experience within the child care community, you know that achieving a 3 or 4 star rating will get you lots of business. But 5 star? That means the children we are serving here through free programs are getting the best of the best quality!

At BC Main, we bumped up from a 4-star to a 5-star rating 2 years ago, achieving 13 out of 15 points.

But for two of our sites, "bumping up" from a 4-star wasn't good enough... they wanted to achieve the 5-star right away! Congratulations to our two newest sites, the Jennings Center and Siegle Avenue, for achieving 5-star ratings!

For more information about the rating system used by the North Carolina Division of Child Development, click here.

Impact Charlotte-The Impact

A couple of weeks ago, 30 or so volunteers came to Bethlehem Center ready to serve as part of Impact Charlotte. We had prayed for no rain, since there were very few projects to be done inside, and instead were greeted with the reverse: 85-degree-plus weather, cloudless skies, and high humidity. The hard thing about times like this is that the kids aren't there, so there are no "kid breaks" and volunteers aren't directly rewarded with hugs.

The volunteers, representing 11 different churches, 9 of which were UMCs, started at 9am and worked until 2pm, some even opting to work through lunch.

The projects that were completed?

• 3 signs cemented in
• Digging holes for 4 more signs then cemented in
• A new flower garden at Southside
• Prepping of a vegetable garden
• Trees planted
• Bird feeders hung
• Sidewalks cleaned
• Campbells Soup Labels clipped and sorted
• Tutor room cleaned out

The group worked hard to serve the children of the Bethlehem Center. We thank these volunteers for all of their hard work.

But more touching, we noticed a "present" left for us as we were locking up that day. It was a note left from Caroline, the 6-year-old daughter of Rev. Tom Schnitzlein, the minister at St. Stephen. We felt like it was the perfect picture of how these volunteers felt about serving that day:

Impact Charlotte

We'll be welcoming friends from the UMC this weekend as part of the city-wide Impact Charlotte. Will you be there?