Education Missions

Blackburn College Chaplaincy
WPC provided $1,000 from the Support & Endowment Fund in 2020 to support the chaplaincy at Blackburn College, a Presbyterian school in Carlinville, IL.
 

Christmas Joy Offering
This special offering, which brought in $3,204 in 2019, brings assistance to church workers in times of need and provides leadership development and education at PC(USA)-related racial/ethnic colleges and schools. 

Compass for Kids
Westminster hosts this weekly after-school program of homework help, life skills, and hot meals for at-risk children from Graham Elementary, partnering with Central Baptist and providing numerous volunteers. Participating children are also supplied with nutritious food for each weekend. Compass has continued in adapted form during the pandemic, meeting children’s academic, social, and nutritional needs despite the inability to gather in person. Westminster has also provided $5,000 in supplemental funding during the crisis.
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Get involved: Opportunities include the chance to be a Classroom Helper / Leader, Reader and Book Club Leader, or food and supplies delivery volunteer.

Kemmerer Village
Kemmerer Village is a Presbyterian Child Care Agency which helps children and youth facing stress and turmoil in their lives to attain skills and dignity and become well-adjusted members of family and society. WPC funded Kemmerer with $2,000 in 2020, and several members are directly involved with this ministry. We also collect box tops to contribute to their educational programming.

Ready 4 Success
WPC members donated approximately 180 backpacks in July and August to this annual back-to-school giveaway of Contact Ministries.

Get involved: Bring new, child-sized backpacks for the summer collection.

Scholarships
From endowment funds designated for that purpose, WPC provides scholarships annually, usually for minority students. The 2020 Support & Endowment budget allowed us to provide $3,300 in such funds.

Vacation Bible School Offering
VBS children and their parents in a typical year donate numerous packages of goods and useful items to the community. For example, in 2019, the VBS donated 94 containers of Clorox wipes, 42 packages of baby wipes, 42 tissue boxes, 800 Zip-loc bags, 6 packages of copy paper, and 37 dry erase markers for the children and teachers of Harvard Park Elementary School.

Westminster Cooperative Preschool
Westminster offers funding to assist families who need help with tuition at our WPC-hosted preschool.
 

YMCA / Matthew Project
The YMCA annually hosts summer programming for the Matthew Project, a Springfield agency serving homeless children. Westminster provided $1,000 in funding toward this endeavor in 2020.

Click here to learn more about Westminster Missions and Service