JULY CAMPUS UPDATE
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
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
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
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 g
ifts. 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
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.