Eight ACS middle school students and four chaperones spent April 2-5 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania doing volunteer service for the Bridge Academy, a non-profit that works with inner-city children from preschool to the 8th grade. The ACS missions team worked with some 60 young people in the Academy’s after-school program and did groundskeeping and other hands-on projects at the Camp at Old Mill, which the Academy uses for summer youth camp programs.
“We helped the students with their homework, played games like Ga-Ga Ball and 4 in the Corner, did arts and crafts, and assisted students working on projects in a woodworking class,” said ACS middle school math teacher Lisa Dye, who was one of the trip chaperones. The team also brought snacks, school supplies, and cleaning products that were donated to support the Academy’s efforts.
Dye said the team’s main goal was to teach the students about God and how He loves them unconditionally. “As we interacted with the students, we learned about the serious daily challenges they face, as so many of them come from families in crisis,” Dye said. “Our students were deeply impacted and just wanted to love and encourage them.” The middle school students who participated in the trip were: Maddie DeNick, Allie Friend, Hunter Jorgensen, Allie Lushina, Allie Schlundt, Uriah Wilkenson, Eden Wilson, and Eve Wilson. In addition to Dye, the other chaperones were staff member Morgan Gibson, Worship Leader Dakota Mason, and Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen. This was the second year that an ACS missions team has served in Coatesville and Dye said she hopes ACS will continue to build that relationship.
