JULY CAMPUS UPDATE

/in /by

June, my favorite month, flew by so quickly! We started the month with Chalk the Walk. This a community event where we use chalk to design a portion of the sidewalk. It is an awesome time to interact with the businesses and people of Valparaiso. And not to brag, but my awesome Development Team does such a great job coloring in our square, that through three weeks of rain, you could still see the Shults-Lewis logo on the sidewalk. How fun!!


We welcomed a group from Naperville, Illinois. This was the youth group’s first mission trip to Shults-Lewis. We loved spending time with them and appreciate all the work they put into making our campus look amazing!


A group from Whiteland, Indiana, made their annual visit to campus. Not only did they work hard, but their congregation sponsored a night out of pizza and a movie. Our kids enjoyed seeing Toy Story 4. We are so grateful for this group and all they do for us!


We held our Annual Golf Tournament in June, raising over $25,000! That is an increase over the last few year’s tournaments. The weather was perfect and we always love seeing our golfers!


We are excited to announce that we have three new employees! Jon O’Keefe is the new Director of Program Services. His wife, Marci, has taken the position of school secretary. And Jenn Swartz has joined the social service staff as the social services secretary. We are so thankful for the new staff members and are looking forward to working with them! Come meet them on Annual Day (Saturday, September 21st).


On the back of this letter, you’ll see some info on Box Tops. Box Tops are going digital. All Box Tops that are physically on products can still be cut out and sent in. However, they are phasing the physical ones out and are going to be using the Box Top app. It’s simple to use. Download the app, create an account and designate us as your school, and then you’ll just scan your receipts, and we’ll “instantly” receive the Box Tops. Box Tops fund our field trips and are used for necessary school equipment. We appreciate you participating in this program.


Other ways you can help besides Box Tops….using smile.amazon.com when shopping amazon…sending us your used ink & toner cartridges….send us your old cell phones…ask your company about Matching Gifts…Some companies require employees to give through United Way, but did you know that you can designate us as the recipient of those funds?


I hope you never tire of me saying it because I mean it, THANK YOU! You are the reason our ministry continues to thrive. Thank you for serving alongside of us!


For the children,
Beth Frump
Beth Frump, Director of Development

June Campus Update

/in /by

May was a month of CELEBRATIONS! We kicked off the month with our Annual Celebration of Strengths Banquet. At this banquet, we honor each kid by celebrating the strengths we have seen in them. The school also presents the Honor Roll certificates and some special awards for kids who have worked diligently this school year. Courtney was the recipient of our Golden Rule award this year! This banquet is held at the Sand Creek Country Club and the kids enjoy their night out.


We also celebrated Courtney as she graduated from our high school. For those of you who may not know, we hold an official graduation ceremony—from a commencement speaker to a class motto; our senior had her day!!! We are so proud of her and her accomplishments! Please pray for her as she transitions to her next stage in life.


Anna successfully completed the Shults-Lewis program and we enjoyed a cake in her honor! Again, please pray for her transition. She has been able to return to her family.


Tony was our graduate from Morgan Township High School. I sat beside Aley Franklin, who was his former housemom who had traveled from Tennessee to be at the ceremony. Also in the bleachers was Emily & Joe Allen, Danner Halsey, and Glenn & Angela Robertson. Seated in the “parent” section was Joel & Kerri Halsey. We are proud to be his family! What an incredible honor for us to celebrate this young man!! He will be staying with us until he leaves for college in the Fall!


Speaking of celebrations, I was able to celebrate my big “0” birthday (40) with an awesome party from the staff! Kiana Baldwin, my assistant, decorated the gym in “chaos”. It was awesome! I am blessed to have such an awesome family here at Shults-Lewis.


OH, and more celebrations—we hired a set of houseparents, Rogeric & Meghan Govan. Rogeric will be a housedad for a boys’ home. Meghan will be joining our school staff as a MATH TEACHER!!! YAY! We also were able to coax Vickie Terhune back (little Diet Dr Pepper and some Jolly Ranchers) to be our interim Principal as Mr. Zandstra had decided that he wanted his sole focus to be on teaching science. We are looking for a Principal, but are so thankful to have Vickie back on campus helping us in the meantime!!!

We are still searching for a Director of Operations, an English Teacher, a History Teacher, and a Therapist. Please pray for that and if you know of anyone, let us know!! God is answering our prayers!!!! THANK YOU for your continuous prayers on our behalf!!


For the children,
Beth
Beth Frump, Director of Development

May Campus Update

/in /by

On a sad for us, happy for him note, Joe Allen resigned his position of Director of Operations in April.  His last day was April 12th.  While we miss him around campus, he was offered a wonderful position in town, and we are so proud of him.  We are very thankful he stayed local so that we can still see his 3-year-old son…I mean, him, on occasion.   

In April we welcomed a group from Bowling Green, Kentucky.  We had such a great time with the youth group who spent the week working on various tasks around campus, including helping Development with some stuffing of Phone Campaign letters (yay!).   While they were here, we held our “Hasn’t-Been-Annual-In-A-Long-Time” Annual Talent show.  What an incredible night.  The kids, staff, and guests shared their talents of music, poetry, jokes, and so much more.

In April, Kiana, Don & Cathy Jones (houseparents in Home 5), and I were able to attend the Network 1:27 Conference.  Network 1:27 consists of ministries like ours (residential homes, foster homes, and adoption agencies) from all over the country.  The days are filled with amazing training and information, but more than that, it is an opportunity to fellowship with others in childcare and encourage each other.  Of course, we also enjoyed being tourists in St. Louis (this year’s host town), and enjoyed seeing the Arch and the zoo.

I know you always are prayerful for our children, but as we are in the last month of this school year, please continue to pray for them.  We have 2 seniors graduating, and the potential of a couple of kids transitioning home.  It is a very exciting time, but it can also cause some anxiousness and concern for them.  We know they will do amazingly well, but please pray for peace for them.

For the children,

Beth

Beth Frump, Director of Development

April Campus Update

/in /by

To be honest, I’m not sure what all happened on campus during March. I was blessed to travel throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois to various congregations who volunteered for our Phone for Children Campaign.

One of the coolest things about the Phone Campaign is the support we receive from home. ALL of the kids made cards or wrote notes for us to open each night, and the staff sent small gifts. It is so awesome to be part of a team who is supportive and encouraging during the stressful, yet AWESOME, Phone Campaign.

We said good-bye to Ms. Fathe Davis, who was our History teacher. She accepted a new teaching position in Illinois, where she lives and had been commuting for 5 years. We appreciate the years of service she gave and her love and passion for teaching. We are thankful for Fred Lucas, housedad in Home 2, for stepping up and helping substitute at the school. However, we are looking for a History and a Math teacher. If you know of someone, please send them our way!

Our contracted licensed therapist is doing an awesome job and is filling the position perfectly for us. We are so grateful for her, but again, we know this is a temporary fix. We need to find a licensed clinical therapist as soon as possible. Know anyone?

The kids are doing well. They just enjoyed a nice Spring Break, an opportunity for some downtime. We still have two girls’ homes, one boys’ home, and a relief home. The kids are handling the transitions of staff quite well, but we want to offer stability as much as possible for them. The sooner we find the necessary staff, the better.

We will have two graduates next month. Tony, the young man, who has been able to attend public school, will graduate at the end of the month. He’s looking forward to attending college in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is currently planning to study psychology. Courtney will graduate from Shults-Lewis High School and plans to study cosmetology after she leaves us. Pray for both of them as they finish their semesters and as they head off to the next phase of their lives.

Happy Spring!
For the children,
Beth Frump, Director of Development

March Campus Update

/in /by

Our theme of the month for February was “Foundation of God’s Love”.  We enjoyed our Annual Valentine’s Progressive Dinner, as you have already read about, I’m sure.  We also encouraged the kids and staff to share ways they have seen God’s Love being shown on campus throughout the month.  The board quickly filled up with various notes, from random acts of kindness to a needed hug or listening ear.  It was a very encouraging month.

The teachers and kids went down to Indianapolis on a Field Trip, seeing a play about Anne Frank.  They loved the play and the Field Trip, but did not enjoy having to leave at 5:00 am to get to Indianapolis.  I believe most of them slept the majority of the way down and back.

Field Trips are amazing experience learning days for our kids.  We are truly thankful for the Box Tops that you donate because those pay the way for our Field Trips.  Another amazing learning experience for our kids is guest speakers.  Anytime you can come and share your passions, hobbies, or career with our kids, we would love to have you!

The kids gave “All About Me” speeches as part of their on-campus 4H program.  And while they shared the fun stuff about loving make-up and music, they were authentic, transparent, and real.  Before each of them finished their speech, every single one of them pinpointed the moment their life hit “rock bottom” and then the moment of Hope as they came to Shults-Lewis.  While some of them are farther along on this journey, they each recognized that Shults-Lewis is providing them the care they need, showing them Hope, and giving them unconditional Love.

Truly, I am humbled by your involvement with our ministry.  It is because of you that we are able to show them the Hope and Love that God has for each and every one of them.  Thank you!

For the children,

Beth Frump

Beth Frump, Director of Development

 

 

Faith. Family. Future.

February Campus Update

/in /by

Oh, January. January always seems to be a very busy month, and yet, as I look at the calendar, I wonder exactly what did we do all month? I think settling back into the routine of “normal” just made the month fly by. Kiana Baldwin, Development Assistant, continues to argue with me about time flying by so quickly. She, in her final semester of college, feels the time is dragging on so slowly. Just like everything, I guess it’s all about perspective.

As you’ve probably already read on social media or in our Telegram we said good-bye to Bob & Becky Brown in January. From one perspective, we are sad to see them go. However, from another, we are thankful for their service and excited for them and their new adventures out west.

In January we started working with the kids on the Social Responsibility of recycling. Don, one of our housedads, was telling us that the girls in his home are actively looking at each item to see if it can be recycled. He excitedly shared, “They are doing it on their own now.”

The kids and teachers went to an awesome convocation at Valparaiso University on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. VU always puts together a great presentation for the day. Ms. Davis, our History teacher, had our kids share “10 Things you might not have known about MLK”. They shared some great facts and also were able to practice their public speaking skills.

Thank you for being a part of our community!!

For the children,

Beth Frump,

Director of Development

 

January Campus Update

/in /by

Santa Clause came to town…. or at least someone looking like Santa came to the Kids’ Christmas Party. The kids enjoyed a last day of the semester filled with activities, games, and a visit from “Santa”.

Earlier in December, the staff enjoyed a Christmas party together. This is one of the few times during the year that the staff can gather together, without kids, and simply enjoy being together. We reveal Secret Pals, play “Mean Santa”, and this year, we enjoyed a video of memories from 2018. We really cherish the time we have as a whole staff together.

December was filled with guests and activities. One yearly tradition is Egg Nog & Treats Day where we gather to enjoy some Egg Nog from Sheilla Davis, a retired employee who visits and prepares a yummy egg nog for all to enjoy. This is one of our favorite days because several of our retirees come and join us for some treats and laughs.

Speaking of treats, we had our annual cookie exchange. From sugar cookie Christmas trees to buckeyes, we shared some amazing goodies. It’s a good thing that we had kicked off our month with the workout at a local gym because calories were abundant in December.

December’s Theme of the Month was “Foundation of God’s Love”. The idea of all of our commitments—open communication, emotional intelligence, democracy, growth & change, non-violence, social learning, and social responsibility—all echo the way God expects us to treat each other. So with that in mind, we used the month to recognize the commitments we have seen in each other during 2018. Every resident and staff member received an ornament filled with commitments that everyone else saw in them during 2018.


Our kids were blessed by several congregations, individuals, and local friends who provided Christmas presents, goodie baskets, and so much more for the holiday season. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love that occurs during the holidays for our kids. By the Sunday before Christmas, the boys were nearing the end of their patience and were ready to start ripping into their presents. They were so excited!! All of our kids were truly blessed and were very appreciative of everything they received.

As we file away our 2018 calendars, and begin to plan and dream for 2019, we just want to thank you for everything you do for our kids.

For the children,

Beth Frump

Beth Frump, Director of Development

December Campus Update

/in /by

November brought snow (that’s a yuck in my book!), but it also brought friends, laughter, and memories.  Mid-November was our Annual Staff Appreciation Banquet where we honor the staff for all of their hard work.  We had dinner at Sand Creek Country Club and enjoyed a night together, without the kids.  It’s one of the few times our staff is able to do that.  At the banquet, the Board also honors a person or group of people with the Board of Trustees Award for their “above and beyond” support and efforts for the ministry at Shults-Lewis.

This year, the Eagle Valley Church of Christ (Indianapolis) received the award.  We are so grateful for them for all they do for us.

Tony, our young man who is attending public school, received Student of the Month for November.  How awesome is that?!?  He made the Varsity basketball team and continues to do well academically.   We are so proud of him.

Our kids and houseparents were able to go to the circus, thanks to one of our board members.  The kids and houseparents had a great time.  They always come back with great stories of their favorite part.  This time, I heard more about Cotton Candy and Popcorn, probably because I talked to the boys about it more than the girls.

Another really cool thing we were able to participate in was a local gym, Lift Life Fitness, who chose us to be their Charity of the Month and members, friends, and families, came to a group workout class, where they learned a little about Shults-Lewis.  Rather than paying for the class, the trainers asked that people make a donation to Shults-Lewis.  It was an awesome event that many of our staff were able to attend and just a unique way for us to get our name out in the community more.  I am so grateful for this opportunity, and others like it!

We placed two new girls in November, maxing us out on the number of kids we can take.  And broken record sound or not, WE NEED A COUNSELOR.  The position of therapist is vital for our agency, and we are struggling to find someone to fill that role.  Do you know of a counselor who may be interested in working with teenagers?  Perhaps a minister who has their degree in counseling that might want to do some mission work at Shults-Lewis?  Who do you know?!?!

I do hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that you will enjoy December and all of the holidays and activities this month can bring.  I am so thankful for you and all you do for the kids, this agency, and for the role you play in my life.  I think of you often and thank God for you daily!

For the children,

Beth Frump

Beth Frump, Director of Development

November Campus Update

/in /by

 

The biggest news from October, you have most likely already heard, read, or seen. One of our young men made the decision to be baptized. We are so proud of him and the choices he is making to become the man he was created to be!

October also brought “Spirit Week”. The kids dressed like their favorite puns, sported their favorite college’s colors, dressed like a nerd, and had a bad hair day. The kids enjoyed a Party Day where they played games, enjoyed grilled dogs for lunch, and were able to go see a movie for the afternoon. All of them enjoyed the break from classes!

Ms Becky created a “What Flavor Is This?” game for the staff and kids. She had 14 flavors of M & M’s and the staff & kids guessed which was which. Ms. Lissa rocked the game by getting all 14 correct! We had a great time discovering the variety of flavors!

As you read in the Telegram, the Theme of the Month was Social Responsibility. The kids took a field trip to a local recycling center to learn more about recycling and taking care of our planet. They also had a trip to a local bank where they learned more about financial responsibility. We enjoyed a potluck together, each person being socially responsible to provide something for the lunch for the kids. The themes of the month allow us the opportunity to find creative ways to teach the kids our commitments—Open Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Democracy, Growth & Change, Non-Violence, Social Learning, Social Responsibility, and most importantly, having a foundation rooted in God’s Love and Word.

Development had the great opportunity to go visit friends in Elgin, Illinois and Florissant, Missouri. We appreciate being able to visit with you all and give you updates on what’s happening here at Shults-Lewis!

November brings our country to a point of being thankful. As you gather around for the Thanksgiving holiday, know that in Valparaiso, Indiana, there is a campus of people who love you and are so very thankful for you!

Thank you for all you do for the children!!!

For the children,

Beth Frump, Director of Development

October Campus Update

/in /by

 

Leading up to the big ANNUAL DAY, we were blessed to have twelve Sojourners spend 3 weeks with us.  The Sojourners always help get our campus ready for Annual Day, and prepare our Gym-Sized Garage Sale.  We appreciate all of their hard work all over campus.  The kids always enjoy the time with the “bonus grandparents”.

As I always do, I had an amazing time at Annual Day.  The fellowship was incredible.  The food, oh goodness, the food.  It was SOOO good.  God provided a perfect weather day.  So many congregations came to provide food booths, craft booths, KidZone and games.  I am so thankful to you all for all the effort you put into making Annual Day a success.  The preliminary totals show that we raised nearly $17,000!  You are so awesome!!!  (Mark next year’s date down now—Saturday, September 21, 2019)

At the end of September, we were blessed to open another home for girls.  We currently have 2 homes for girls, a home for boys, and a relief home!  We placed two new girls and a new boy.  Pray for them as they transition into our program.

We are excited about our homes and the ability to serve as many kids as possible.  However, we still are in need of a counselor.   We need a therapist with a Master’s degree, either licensed in Indiana or willing to get licensed in Indiana.  This role is crucial and we need someone IMMEDIATELY!  This salaried position offers benefits such as insurances and retirement. Please pray for our search and if you know of anyone, please send them our way.

Thank you for all you do for the children!!!

For the children,

Beth Frump

Beth Frump, Director of Development